Phishing: A Criminal Act that Threatens Cybersecurity

Overview

Phishing is a type of online scam that uses deceitful emails, text messages, phone calls, or websites to trick users into providing personal information or downloading malicious software. Phishing attackers typically disguise themselves as trustworthy individuals or organizations, such as colleagues, superiors, banks, government agencies, and so on, using people's curiosity, greed, fear, or sense of urgency to make them fall into traps unwittingly.

Phishing is the most common form of social engineering attack , exploiting human vulnerabilities to perpetrate deception. Therefore, preventing phishing requires increasing awareness and habits of cybersecurity, as well as using effective security tools and measures to protect oneself and organizations from phishing threats.

Contents

How does phishing work?

Common Types of Phishing

How to Prevent Phishing Attacks?

Conclusion

How does phishing work?

① Collecting target information

Phishers obtain target users' personal information, such as name, email, position, and interests, through various channels, to customize more convincing phishing emails.

② Creating phishing emails

Phishers design phishing emails that appear to be from legitimate institutions or acquaintances based on the collected information, containing links or attachments that induce users to click. These links or attachments typically lead to fake websites or download malicious files.

③ Sending phishing emails

Phishers use bulk mailing tools to send phishing emails to target users, often using urgent or tempting language such as "Your account is about to expire, please log in immediately" or "You have won a prize, please claim it" to attract users' attention.

④ Collecting user information

When users click on links or attachments in phishing emails, phishers can obtain sensitive information entered by users on fake websites, such as passwords, bank card numbers, ID numbers, or implant malware on users' devices to steal data or control the device.

⑤ Using user information

Phishers use the collected user information for various illegal activities, such as stealing funds, impersonating identities, sending spam emails, etc., causing economic losses or reputational damage to users.

Common Types of Phishing

Phishing has many types, each with its own characteristics and purposes. Understanding common types of phishing can help you identify and prevent them. Here are some common types of phishing:

① Email Phishing

This is the most common type of phishing attack. Attackers disguise themselves as trusted senders, send messages that are deceptive in nature, set up "bait", and induce you to click on malicious links and provide sensitive data on fake websites. Email phishing comes in many forms, some more targeted than others, such as spear-phishing and whaling, which select specific victims and use social engineering to investigate their characteristics, job positions, contacts, and other information to develop highly credible phishing schemes.

② Smishing and Vishing

These two methods use phone calls or text messages to carry out phishing attacks. Attackers can use robots or disguise themselves as legitimate institutions or individuals to send or make calls containing malicious links or requests for personal information to you. These two methods typically target older victims who are less likely to use the internet and are unable to understand the "exquisite" scams.

③ Social Media Phishing

This method uses social media platforms to carry out phishing attacks. Attackers can use several methods to implement social media phishing: spread malicious links or information through social media, collect victim information through social media to plan more targeted attacks, and use victim social media accounts to send malicious information to their contacts.

④ Pharming

This method changes your device's domain name resolution file or uses a vulnerability in DNS server software to redirect you to phishing websites or websites containing malicious code after you enter a website address. This method is more complex and effective than ordinary phishing attacks because even if you enter the correct website address, the attacked DNS server will still guide you to a malicious website.

⑤ Evil Twin Attack

This method sets up a false wireless access point, the "evil twin brother" of the real wireless access point, to induce you to connect to the internet. Once your device connects to this network, attackers can steal your account passwords and personal information.

How to Prevent Phishing Attacks?

① Identify the characteristics of phishing

Phishing usually involves emails, text messages, or social media that impersonate people or organizations we trust, sending us urgent or tempting messages, requiring us to click on links, open attachments, or provide personal information. These messages may look real, but if we observe carefully, we can find some loopholes, such as spelling errors, grammar errors, unmatched domain names, and insecure links. We should remain vigilant against these messages and not click.

② Use cybersecurity tools and measures

The use of network security tools and measures can help prevent phishing attacks. This includes antivirus software, firewalls, spam filters, dual factor authentication, and MetroVPN . Anti virus software can detect and remove malicious software, while firewalls can block unauthorized access to your device or network. Spam filters can identify and filter out suspicious emails and text messages, while dual factor authentication adds an additional layer of security by requiring a second form of authentication before accessing the account. MetroVPN can ensure the security of online browsing and prevent entry into harmful websites.

③ Stay up-to-date with security patches and updates

Staying up-to-date with security patches and updates can help prevent phishing attacks. Software vulnerabilities can be exploited by attackers to install malware or steal sensitive information. Regularly updating your devices and software can patch these vulnerabilities and protect against potential attacks.

Conclusion

In summary, preventing phishing requires a combination of awareness, education, and effective security measures. By understanding the common types of phishing, identifying their characteristics, and implementing appropriate safeguards, individuals and organizations can better protect themselves from these pervasive and dangerous cyber threats.