Perhaps one of the most consequential phishing attacks in history happened in 2016, when hackers managed to get Hillary Clinton campaign chair John Podesta to offer up his Gmail password.One of the oldest types of cyberattacks, phishing dates back to the 1990s, and it’s still one of the most widespread and pernicious, with phishing messages and techniques becoming increasingly sophisticated. Phishing emails can be targeted in several different ways, with some not being targeted at all, some being “soft targeted” at someone playing a particular role in an organization, and some being targeted at specific, high-value people.

“Phish” is pronounced just like it’s spelled, which is to say like the word “fish”-the analogy is of an angler throwing a baited hook out there (the phishing email) and hoping you bite. These attacks use social engineering techniques to trick the email recipient into believing that the message is something they want or need-a request from their bank, for instance, or a note from someone in their company-and to click a link or download an attachment.

Phishing is a type of cyberattack that uses disguised email as a weapon.

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