phishing
3 articles with this tag
What is phishing? The types of attack, and defenses surer than 'spotting it'
Phishing impersonates a trusted party to lure you to a fake login page and steal credentials or data (or run malware). It targets human judgment rather than a software flaw, and is the number-one entry route for ransomware and breaches. Modern adversary-in-the-middle (AiTM) phishing relays even one-time codes to the real site in real time, so SMS/app MFA can be defeated. The sure defense isn't 'spotting it' but mechanisms: domain-bound phishing-resistant MFA (passkeys/security keys), going to the official site directly instead of clicking links, and email authentication (SPF/DKIM/DMARC).
What is ransomware? How it works, how it gets in, and how to avoid paying
Ransomware is malware that encrypts your files and demands payment to get them back. Modern attacks add double extortion — they steal data first and threaten to leak it, so decryption alone doesn't stop the breach. Main entry routes: phishing, weak/no-MFA VPN/RDP, and unpatched internet-facing flaws. The single most important defense is offline/immutable backups plus restore tests — being able to recover without paying. Also close the entry (MFA, patching) and limit blast radius (least privilege, segmentation).
Choosing MFA the right way: what 'phishing-resistant' means, and why SMS is weak
MFA is a second lock so a leaked password alone can't get you in — but what you turn on changes its strength by three tiers. SMS/email codes fall to relay phishing and SIM-swap; authenticator apps (TOTP) are mid; passkeys/security keys (FIDO2) can't be presented to a fake site at all — that's phishing resistance. Top priority: put phishing-resistant MFA on the keys to the kingdom (email, domain, payments). Storing recovery codes and having a backup factor complete the setup.