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What are whaling phishing attacks?
What is a whaling attack?
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A whaling attack, also known as whaling phishing or a whaling phishing attack, is a specific type of phishing attack that targets high-profile employees, such as the chief executive officer or chief financial officer, in order to steal sensitive information from a company.
Whaling is a common cyber attack that occurs when an attacker utilizes spear phishing methods to go after a large, high-profile target, such as c-suite executives. Malicious actors know that executives and high-level employees (like public spokespersons) can be savvy to the usual roster of spam tactics; they may have received extensive security ...
Jan 2, 2024 · A whaling attack is a type of phishing scam where hackers deceive high-ranking people (think C-level executives like CEOs and CFOs or key decision-makers) to achieve financial gain, access sensitive data, or coerce the organization into taking a specific action.
- Whaling Attack Definition
- How Does A Whaling Attack Work?
- How to Recognize A Whaling Email
- Whaling Attack Targets
- How to Avoid A Whaling Attack
A whaling attack, also referred to as a whaling phishing attack, is a type of social engineering attack specifically targeting senior or C-level executive employees with the purpose of stealing money or information, or gaining access to the person’s computer in order to execute further cyberattacks. Whaling attacks are able to deliver high returns ...
Whaling attacks succeed in fooling sophisticated people because they are based on a significant amount of research. For example, a CEO may receive an email that appears to be from his CFO, whom he knows is on vacation. The email may say something like, “About to board plane, urgent need to pay Vendor X or critical shipment will be delayed. Can you ...
While companies have become much better at requiring security awareness training, C-level personnel are less likely to comply with such a program. That may be because they have gatekeepers who decide for them that they won’t need the training, because the training is inconvenient for them, or because the training designed for the average employee i...
All this effort is worthwhile for scammers because the payoffs can be huge. Whaling victims that have made the news include a grain company that lost $17.2 million and a film company that lost $21 million. An airplane part manufacturer lost $54 millionand fired its CEO of 17 years. Other companies report the exfiltration of large amounts of sensiti...
Because a whaling attack is launched in the same way a phishing attack is launched, many of the same protections that are already in place will help protect an enterprise. These include: 1. Exposing spoofed addresses by stopping email from outside the network if the domain is suspicious – for example, if an email seemingly from Widget.com is actual...
Aug 24, 2021 · A whaling phishing attack is a cyber attack wherein cybercriminals disguise themselves as members of a senior management team or other high-power executives of an establishment to target individuals within the organization, either to siphon off money or access sensitive information for malicious purposes.
Sep 26, 2023 · A whaling attack is a type of phishing attack specifically targeting high-profile individuals within an organization, such as CEOs, CFOs, or other executives. These senior executives are sometimes referred to as "big fish", hence the term "whaling" as opposed to just "phishing".
Dec 7, 2023 · Whaling in cybersecurity is a form of phishing attack that specifically targets senior executives and other high-ranking individuals within an organisation. The term ‘whaling’ was coined because the individuals targeted are often referred to as ‘big fish’ within their respective organizations, such as executives or CEO’s.
