PHISHING - SCI &
TECH
News: India one of the key
geographies affected by phishing attacks: Verizon
What's in the news?
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A report from Verizon Business has emphasized the
rising incidence of phishing in India.
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Cybercriminals are resorting to new and
sophisticated methods to deceive unsuspecting users into opening malicious emails or clicking on harmful
links.
Key takeaways:
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As a result, there is an increased risk of users
experiencing financial losses and the compromise of their personal data.
Highlights of the Study:
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The report highlighted that there has been improvement in reporting practices of
such incidents of phishing in India. However only 20% of users now identify and
report phishing during simulation tests.
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It also revealed that espionage attacks dominate the cybersecurity landscape in the
Asia-Pacific region, including India.
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In the Asia-Pacific region, 25% of cyberattacks
stem from espionage, a stark contrast to the 6% and % in Europe and North
America, respectively.
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The Asia-Pacific region saw a 180% growth in vulnerability exploitation.
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System intrusion, social engineering, and basic web
application attacks represent 95% of breaches in the Asian Pacific region.
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The study also found that the most common types of
data compromised are credentials
(69%), internal (37%), and secrets (24%).
Phishing:
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It refers to an attempt to steal sensitive information in the form of usernames, passwords,
credit card numbers, bank account information or other important data to
utilize or sell the stolen information.
How is Phishing done?
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In a phishing attack, the sender pretends to be someone
trustworthy to the recipient, such as a family member, the CEO of their
company, or a well-known figure offering giveaways.
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The message prompts immediate action, often with a
sense of urgency and directing the recipient to a fake website resembling a
legitimate one.
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They are asked to input their login credentials
which are then stolen by the attacker for identity theft, financial fraud, or
selling personal information. The phishing email’s destination URL closely
resembles the legitimate one.
Go back to basics:
Related Terms:
1. Spam:
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Spam is unsolicited
email, instant messages, or social media messages. These messages are
fairly easy to spot and can be damaging if you open or respond.
2. Spear Phishing:
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Spear Phishing occurs when criminals obtain
information about you from websites or
social networking sites, and customize a phishing scheme to you.
3. Spoofing:
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Spoofing describes a criminal who impersonates another individual or organization, with
the intent to gather personal or business information.
4. Pharming:
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Pharming is a malicious
website that resembles a legitimate website, used to gather usernames and
passwords.