Spear phishing: What is it and how you can protect your business

PITTSBURGH – Did you know that spear phishing is one of the most dangerous threats to businesses around the globe today?

Unlike broader email phishing attacks, spear phishing is a targeted and sophisticated attempt to steal sensitive information such as account credentials or financial information in which cybercriminals use personal information about the victim to bypass traditional email security.

Attackers acquire specific details about the victim such as their employer, friends or recent online purchases, and then use those details to disguise themselves as familiar or trustworthy.

Because they’re personalized and look legitimate, they’re harder to identify and stop than traditional phishing attacks. This is also why they’re becoming increasingly prevalent and have a greater chance of fooling recipients.

Our email security partner Barracuda has released a new report detailing spear phishing threats and trends and the best ways to defend your business.

The report is now available to download for free from Barracuda’s website and includes:

• The different types of spear phishing attacks

• Top brands and domains used by the attackers

• Social engineering tactics

• Why sextortion attacks are effective

• When to expect a spike in attacks

• Best practices to prevent spear phishing

Barracuda offers total email protection with its bundle of solutions that includes Essentials, Sentinel and Phishline. Learn more at Barracuda.com.

Email security is an important topic for us at DES. Contact us for a no obligation evaluation today at 1-800-864-4166 or sales@descomm.com.