Taming Technology: Don’t Be a Phish on a Hook
Anastasia Cyzewski · Editorial Office News · 2024
If you're reading this article, then you've successfully connected to the internet!Congratulations!Everything and everyone are here!Work?Groceries?Shopping?Dating?Entertainment?Banking?Accessing your medical history?Updating your investment portfolio?Before going wild on your online adventure, it's important to recognize the internet is a double-edged sword.Data on anything imaginable is out there and available for the taking, and there's never been a better time to phish.You've probably heard of phishing with the "ph;" a form of social engineering, in which outsiders will use deceit to trick you into sending them sensitive information.Phishers cast a wide net and send messages out to all kinds of users from an automated system.These attacks are non-discriminatory and aren't meant to target a specific person, but the goal is to get your attention and make you want to open the message.The message may appear to originate from a big tech company, such as Google or Microsoft and contain a link to a spoofed site on which it asks you to enter sensitive information to "reset" your password or "validate" your account.Alternately, phishers may trick you into downloading a shady file that has been attached.Unfortunately, the attachment could contain a form of malware or a virus that could encrypt your files and block you from accessing them.If you're a professional, your organization has likely implemented some sort of cybersecurity training to spot