Phishing uses deceptive messages to steal credentials or deliver malware, while user verification, MFA, and email filtering reduce the risk.
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Background for this topic.
Phishing is deceptive communication—by email, text, phone, or a fake website—that impersonates a trusted person or service to make someone disclose credentials, approve a transaction, reveal sensitive information, or run harmful software. Attackers use it to bypass technical controls by persuading a legitimate user to perform an action, and may target employees, customers, administrators, or suppliers.
Its impact can include account takeover, unauthorized payments, exposure of personal or business data, and access to internal systems. The most effective control for stolen-password phishing is phishing-resistant multi-factor authentication, such as hardware-backed passkeys or security keys, which binds authentication to the legitimate site. Organizations should also filter and authenticate messaging where possible, use password managers, restrict risky actions, train users to verify unusual requests through a separate channel, and provide rapid reporting so suspected credentials or sessions can be revoked.
Attackers use scam security checks to steal victims' government documents, photos, banking information, and email passwords, researchers warn.
Phishing retained its place as the top root cause of data compromises, according to new data from the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC).
The massive phishing campaign does not exploit a vulnerability in MFA. Instead, it spoofs an Office 365 authentication page to steal credentials.
New data from security training provider shows half of untrained users in consulting, energy, and healthcare industries fall for phishing attacks.
Fraudster innovation will continue to drive successful phishing, business email compromise, and socially engineered attacks, researchers say.
Scams pressure victims to "resolve an issue that could impact their status, business."