Phishing attacks rely on several principles, including:

• Social engineering: Phishing is a type of social engineering and cybersecurity attack where the attacker impersonates someone else via email or other electronic communication methods, including social networks and SMS text messages, to reveal sensitive information.

• Impersonation: Attackers masquerade as a reputable entity or person in an email or other form of communication to trick the victim into revealing sensitive information.

• Information gathering: Phishers can use public sources of information, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, to gather the victims personal details, work history, interests, and activities. They can then use this information to craft a believable phishing email.

• Urgency: Attackers often create a sense of urgency in their phishing emails to make the target act quickly, perhaps without thinking. For example, they may make the target believe that one of their accounts has been compromised.

• Deception: Phishing attacks depend on more than simply sending an email to victims and hoping they click on a malicious link or open a malicious attachment. Attackers can use techniques such as URL spoofing, where they use JavaScript to place a picture of a legitimate URL over a browsers address bar.

• Minimal cost and effort: Phishing tactics, particularly email, require minimal cost and effort, making them widespread cyber-attacks. Victims of phishing scams may end up with malware infections (including ransomware), identity theft, and data loss.

To protect against phishing attacks, it is essential to understand the threat and take appropriate measures. These measures include practicing zero-trust, looking out for red flags, thinking before clicking, and verifying authenticity first. Additionally, organizations can provide security awareness training and education to help users identify phishing, work with experts to send simulated phishing emails to employees, and use email filters to prevent phishing attacks.