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.
The "0ktapus" cyberattackers set up a well-planned spear-phishing effort that affected at least 130 orgs beyond Twilio and Cloudflare, including Digital Ocean and Mailchimp.
In a widespread campaign, threat actors use a compromised Dynamics 365 Customer Voice business account and a link posing as a survey to steal Microsoft 365 credentials.
Three of the world's leading browsers were measured for phishing and malware protection, with time to block and protection over time as key metrics in test scores.