Internet

Cracking the code: Examining why people fall for scams

Australians lost a staggering $3 billion to scammers last year, surpassing any previous year. That's equivalent to the cost of rebuilding three new hospitals. The latest Targeting Scams report from the Australian Competition ...

Security

Research offers novel approach for combating phishing attacks

Research in the International Journal of Electronic Security and Digital Forensics offers a new approach to combating phishing attacks in order to enhance online security and reduce cybercrime against individuals and businesses ...

Security

Q&A: Team approach to cybersecurity keeps scammers from winning

The next time you're on an office scavenger hunt or trying to find your way out of an escape room with your co-workers, just remember that every second of shared experience helps tighten cybersecurity within your organization.

Security

A deep learning-based framework to detect phishing websites

Most of us will have received a scam email that looks like it has come from our bank or an online store or other company or organization. They can look genuine but usually hidden within are malicious links that once clicked ...

Security

How to trust your instincts to foil phishing attacks

An employee at MacEwan University got an email in 2017 from someone claiming to be a construction contractor asking to change the account number where almost $12 million in payments were sent. A week later the actual contractor ...

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Phishing

Phishing is a way of attempting to acquire information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Communications purporting to be from popular social web sites, auction sites, online payment processors or IT administrators are commonly used to lure the unsuspecting public. Phishing is typically carried out by e-mail spoofing or instant messaging, and it often directs users to enter details at a fake website whose look and feel are almost identical to the legitimate one. Phishing is an example of social engineering techniques used to deceive users, and exploits the poor usability of current web security technologies. Attempts to deal with the growing number of reported phishing incidents include legislation, user training, public awareness, and technical security measures.

A phishing technique was described in detail in 1987, and the first recorded use of the term "phishing" was made in 1996. The term is a variant of fishing, probably influenced by phreaking, and alludes to "baits" used in hopes that the potential victim will "bite" by clicking a malicious link or opening a malicious attachment, in which case their financial information and passwords may then be stolen.

This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA