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"Spearphishing" differs from simple "phishing" in that the attack is specially crafted to fool a specific high value target - whether an individual or a group. Spearphishing attacks are usually preceded by the attacker conducting research on the target to identify the high-value targets (such as company CEO, CFO, etc.) and make the spearphishing email sound as if the attacker is an individual or entity that is well known to the target, thus getting them to let down their guard. Simple phishing attacks just rely on broad observations of human nature such as a desire to get something for free or fear that they might get cut off from their banking service or trust of the IT department. Spearphishing is much more targeted and requires research on the intended victim(s) to escalate its likelihood of success and decrease the likelihood of being detected as spearphishing.
Meredith Walsh
Wiki User
∙ 12y agoSpearphishing is highly targeted phishing that requires some knowledge of the target. Simple phishing is more a spam method that is sent to many, many users, most of whom it will not apply to. For example; a phishing attack may send a notice to a million people that their PayPal account is about to expire to trick them into going to a fake site and disclosing their PayPal account information. Most of the recipients won't even have a PayPal account, but by hitting many, many people, the attacker will hope to capture a few gullible people who do have one.
By contrast, a spearphishing attack would first glean a list of PayPal users and then send the messages only to them. Since the attacker has already gone to the trouble of acquiring such a list, they may also have gleaned additional information about their intended victims that they would insert into the phishing attack to make it more convincing.
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago"Spearphishing" differs from simple "phishing" in that the attack is specially crafted to fool a specific high value target - whether an individual or a group. Spearphishing attacks are usually preceded by the attacker conducting research on the target to identify the high-value targets (such as company CEO, CFO, etc.) and make the spearphishing email sound as if the attacker is an individual or entity that is well known to the target, thus getting them to let down their guard. Simple phishing attacks just rely on broad observations of human nature such as a desire to get something for free or fear that they might get cut off from their banking service or trust of the IT department. Spearphishing is much more targeted and requires research on the intended victim(s) to escalate its likelihood of success and decrease the likelihood of being detected as spearphishing.
Wiki User
∙ 9y agoA characteristic phishing attempt is to try and trick the victim into believing that something is legitimate, and then stealing their details. This is done very commonly with websites. If this was attempted by phone or face to face, this would be called: Social Engineering
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What is an An email attack that targets a particular individual group or organization is called?
Spear phishing An email attack that targets a particular individual group or organization is called spear phishing. Usually, phishing is when the recipient receives an email that has a scam link in it.
What is an email attack that targets a particular individual group or organization is called?
Spear phishing An email attack that targets a particular individual group or organization is called spear phishing. Usually, phishing is when the recipient receives an email that has a scam link in it.
How does Spear phishing differ from phishing?
Phishing is a way of attempting to acquire information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.Spear Phishing is the same as Phishing. The difference is that the attack is targeted towards a specific person or group.Whaling is the same thing as Spear Phishing. The difference is that the specific target is high-value, such as company CEOs, CFOs, etc.
What is a spear phishing?
Phishing is a way of attempting to acquire information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.Spear Phishing is the same as Phishing. The difference is that the attack is targeted towards a specific person or group.Whaling is the same thing as Spear Phishing. The difference is that the specific target is high-value, such as company CEOs, CFOs, etc.
Spear Phishing attacks commonly attempt to?
Spear phishing attacks commonly attempt to trick email users into opening an email, and clicking on a link. They do this by making it look like the email is coming from a trusted site or person.
What is an example of A complex or targeted email attack that appears to come from within your organization?
Spear Phishing
How do you stop spear phishing?
To stop Internet phishing protect your computer with software like Norton or McAfee which provide Internet security through firewalls, anti-virus programs, spam filters, and anti-spywares. Also, stop phishing by having all the necessary security updates and only using secured websites, which you can check through the security certificate of the websites you visit.
What if your home computer firewall protection should be?
Spear phishing is meant to target a particular group of people or specific organization?
What is a spear fishing cyber attack?
It is a targeted phishing attack. See for example: http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2009/april/spearphishing_040109
What is the difference between phishing and spear fishing?
Phishing is a social engineering tactic where the attacker attempts to get a user to divulge sensitive information (like username/password, bank account number, personal information, etc.) or go to a malicious website where such information can be harvested. It uses "bait" such as telling the user that they are their bank asking for the information or posing as some other authority like the system administrator. Usually it is delivered by email or Instant Messenger. Spearphishing is a subset of phishing. Whereas general phishing targets a wide range of people trying to get some of them to divulge general information, spearphishing targets key individuals who are expected to have very special access or information that the attacker wants. It could be a company executive or a military officer. As a variation on the pun, attacks on high level executives or military officers is sometimes referred to as "whaling".
What is the difference between phishers and phishing?
phishing is the act of stealing accounts, and the phisher is the person that is phishing.
Does spear phishing differs from phishing in that the email comes from someone who appears to be from inside your organization.?
Spear phishing is the act of creating and sending a phony email to one person or several people at a particular company. The email appears to come from a person of authority - usually someone who works at the same company. This email might request highly confidential information, passwords or other sensitive data. Since the email appears to be from an authority figure, people may be likely to reply and provide the information. An email may also include a link that the recipient is asked to click - if the person does click, they are likely to inadvertently download spyware to their computer.
