Know about the Cyber-Attacks happening through Phishing

What is it about?

Phishing is known as a cyber-attack that uses the disguise of an email address which becomes its primary weapon. The goal of the hacker is to trick the recipient to understand that the mail is something that they need or want. Once the recipient clicks onto the mail, the virus enters the system and can cause identity thefts, stealing of private information, and various other cyber-crimes. 

What distinguishes phishing from the other kind of cyber-attacks is how the message is drafted. The attacker makes sure that before drafting the malicious content, it should sound extremely trustworthy or as someone the recipient already knows about. It can be traced back to the 1990s as one of the oldest cyber-attacks to happen. Phishing is still happening in the modern world we live in because most other people are still not familiar with the term or what happens.

How did the analogy start?

Tracing back to the word phishing, you can completely understand where it came from. The word phishing refers to the term known as ‘fishing’ where the bait is placed and the fish is captured with the hook. Just like the same, the hacker puts the bait in the form of an email which seems trustworthy to open. Some of the emails are sent with the use of company or business names and even offers as well as vouchers. 

Messages like ‘You have won 5000 cash as a trusted fun insurance claim. Click here to set your details and add the amount to your bank account’ can draw the attention of the recipients. If you have heard the famous phishing episode which went onto the White House where John Podesta’s Gmail account was hacked and all reports regarding Clinton were spread on media.

How does it happen?

To obtain a fish from the pond, you need to make sure that you bring a kit at your home. Just like that, phishing requires a kit. The kit can be available easily on the dark web. This is the place where criminals and cyber-hackers find ways to steal information and commit heinous crimes. 

Here is how it goes.

1. The legitimate company website is cloned.
2. The login website is created to steal the user’s identity and other important information.
3. The modified bundles are stored in the form of a zip file.
4. The files are unzipped and then uploaded onto the hacked website.
5. Email is sent to the users who have linked their credentials to the fake website.

How to prevent it?

There are ways through which phishing can be prevented. The internet is surely a vast place for exciting things to happen but with proper handling of information, it becomes easy to stay safe and connected.

1. All the URLs must be checked to see if there are spelling errors or they do sound fake or not.
2. If you are sent to a different website with an identical credential base, it is a huge red sign.
3. If you receive an email from a source, make sure that you contact them before sending them anything.

Conclusion

These are the basic ways through which a regular user can stay safe from phishing. By practicing them, you can have safe connectivity and stop hackers from stealing the content of millions of people.