If Moby Dick were written today, Ishmael might be a social engineering-hacker instead of a sailor and Moby Dick might be a corporate CEO instead of a sperm whale.
That’s because spear phishing has given a new meaning to a relentless hunt for a prize with a big payoff. Debbie Stephenson from Firmex Inc., a financial services firm, shares an infographic that shows that spear phishing is used in nine out of 10 attacks generated by a group of hackers persistently targeting a specific company or person. The term doesn’t refer to any sea-faring activities in the modern vernacular, but an attempt by fraudulent actors to extract important information from high-value targets.
