A cyberattack that uses fraudulent emails, text messages, or websites disguised as trustworthy sources to steal sensitive information such as passwords, credit card numbers, or personal data.
A cyberattack that uses fraudulent emails, text messages, or websites disguised as trustworthy sources to steal sensitive information such as passwords, credit card numbers, or personal data.
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Phishing is the most common form of cybercrime, accounting for over 80% of reported security incidents. The term comes from "fishing" — attackers cast a wide net of fraudulent messages hoping victims will "bite." The "ph" spelling references "phone phreaking," an early form of hacking.
Modern phishing attacks go far beyond poorly written Nigerian prince emails. Today's attacks use sophisticated social engineering, pixel-perfect brand impersonation, and even AI-generated content to create nearly undetectable fraudulent communications.
Phishing attacks exploit human psychology — urgency, fear, curiosity, and trust. By impersonating banks, tech companies, government agencies, or colleagues, attackers bypass our natural skepticism and trick us into acting before we think critically.
In 2023, a phishing campaign impersonated Microsoft 365 login pages so convincingly that it bypassed multi-factor authentication for thousands of corporate users. The attackers used adversary-in-the-middle (AiTM) techniques to intercept session cookies in real time.