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.
Cyberattackers like IPFS because it is resilient to content blocking and takedown efforts.
The stalling of federal legislation and the continued expansion of data brokers are fueling a phishing epidemic.
Retailers and hospitality companies expect to battle credential harvesting, phishing, bots, and various malware variants.
Microsoft added certificate-based authentication (CBA) to the Azure Active Directory to help organizations enable phishing-resistant MFA that complies with US federal requirements. The change paves the way for enterprises to migrate their Active Directory implementations to the cloud.