Impersonation attacks mimic trusted people or services to trick users into sharing credentials, sending money, or bypassing security controls.
Search across headline titles and summaries.
Background for this topic.
Impersonation is the deliberate presentation of a person, organization, account, device, or service as another trusted identity. In information security, attackers use stolen credentials, look-alike domains, caller-ID or email spoofing, forged messages, and social engineering to persuade users or systems to accept that false identity. The aim may be account takeover, unauthorized access, fraudulent transactions, or disclosure of sensitive information.
Impersonation commonly targets identity providers, email and messaging systems, help desks, executives, suppliers, and customer-support channels. Useful controls include phishing-resistant multi-factor authentication, least-privilege access, email authentication and domain monitoring, and independent verification of unusual requests—especially changes to payment details or credentials. Detection and response depend on examining authentication logs, device and session context, reported fraudulent messages, and newly registered look-alike domains; compromised accounts should be revoked or reset promptly and impersonated parties notified where appropriate.
The Interlock ransomware gang now uses ClickFix attacks that impersonate IT tools to breach corporate networks and deploy file-encrypting malware on devices. [...]
At-Bay Cyber Insurance Claims Report Finds 83% of Financial Fraud Starts With EmailFinancial fraud remains the leading driver of cyberinsurance claims, with 83% of cases traced back to email-based attacks. Common tactics used to deceive employees include wiring funds to fraudulent accounts, generative AI-crafted emails, executive and vendor impersonation and BEC scams.