What is Phishing?

Phishing is the attempt to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details (and sometimes, indirectly, money), often for malicious reasons, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication The word is a neologism created as a homophone of fishing due to the similarity using a bait in an attempt to catch a victim.

 

Why conduct a Phishing Simulation?

Phishing attacks are on the rise, and they are getting more sophisticated every day. Below are some interesting statistics to take note of:

 

• According to PhishME, phishing attempts have grown 65% in the last year

• According to Wombat Security, 76% of businesses reported being a victim of a phishing attack in the last year

• According to the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, 30% of phishing messages get opened by targeted users and 12% of those users click on the malicious attachment or link.

• According to SANS Institute, 95% of all attacks on enterprise networks are the result of successful spear phishing.

 

During a phishing attack, a cybercriminal sends an email pretending to be someone or something he's not in order to extract sensitive information out of the target. 509 Cyber would like to test your employees and see if they will potentially click on malicious links or malicious attachments in a safe and controlled manner. Emails would be specially crafted by 509 Cyber and sent to your employees. If links are clicked or attachments opened 509 Cyber will be able to identify this activity and provide you with an assessment of how your company would hold up in an internet connected world.