What is phishing?

Every Internet user has encountered phishing at least once. Someone did not fall for the bait of hackers, whereas others lost money or revealed important data to scammers. Let’s discuss in detail what phishing means. Phishing is a type of cyberattack when malicious links are sent, for example, to an email, to steal sensitive data. Hackers are trying to lure people with some existing offer or information so that they click an infected URL. However, there are many other ways to spread phishing. You can download ransomware or perform another similar action on the network.

Phishing is based on deception and social engineering. The main thing is for the user to believe that this is the “reliable” link from the bank that he/she was waiting for or an important email from the company.

Both ordinary Internet users and high-ranked employees of large corporations can click such links. The cyberattack is carried out purposefully on them. For the latter, hackers use the most plausible emails. The most high-profile phishing attack occurred in 2016 during the US presidential election campaign. Hackers fooled Hillary Clinton's official with a fake URL and got access to her email.

How exactly hackers deceive reckless users:

- “Download an important file.” Users do not check thoroughly the content of email and do not understand that this is a malicious link. They download software and infect their computer. Oftentimes, these are Zip files or Microsoft Office documents. Usually, such emails are sent to an employee of the company, for example, under the guise of an applicant's resume;

- “Fill in the data (usually confidential).” As a result, users reveal their usernames and passwords. This is the most common type of phishing. This is often a link allegedly sent by the bank. The webpage looks very similar. Users enter their data without any hesitation. This is why scammers use this technique quite often.

On the net, you should be really careful and not lose your vigilance. It will help you avoid phishing.