{"id":2522,"date":"2019-08-13T12:52:20","date_gmt":"2019-08-13T12:52:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/teachcomputerscience.com\/?p=456"},"modified":"2024-07-24T10:14:55","modified_gmt":"2024-07-24T10:14:55","slug":"phishing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teachcomputerscience.com\/phishing\/","title":{"rendered":"Phishing"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-8bdd16d3 upsell-block\"><div class=\"gb-inside-container\">\n<div class=\"gb-grid-wrapper gb-grid-wrapper-c01b550c\">\n<div class=\"gb-grid-column gb-grid-column-e92757a2\"><div class=\"gb-container gb-container-e92757a2\"><div class=\"gb-inside-container\">\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-2fdc912c gb-headline-text\">GCSE Computer Security Resources (14-16 years)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>An editable PowerPoint lesson presentation<\/li><li>Editable revision handouts<\/li><li>A glossary which covers the key terminologies of the module<\/li><li>Topic mindmaps for visualising the key concepts<\/li><li>Printable flashcards to help students engage active recall and confidence-based repetition<\/li><li>A quiz with accompanying answer key to test knowledge and understanding of the module<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-button-wrapper gb-button-wrapper-4286a4d5\">\n\n<a class=\"gb-button gb-button-152fd56f gb-button-text\" href=\"https:\/\/teachcomputerscience.com\/gcse\/security\/computer-security\/\">View GCSE Computer Security Resources<\/a>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gb-grid-column gb-grid-column-f93dcbcd\"><div class=\"gb-container gb-container-f93dcbcd\"><div class=\"gb-inside-container\">\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-945a03e5 gb-headline-text\">A-Level Network Security Resources (16-18 years)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>An editable PowerPoint lesson presentation<\/li><li>Editable revision handouts<\/li><li>A glossary which covers the key terminologies of the module<\/li><li>Topic mindmaps for visualising the key concepts<\/li><li>Printable flashcards to help students engage active recall and confidence-based repetition<\/li><li>A quiz with accompanying answer key to test knowledge and understanding of the module<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-button-wrapper gb-button-wrapper-e44a411a\">\n\n<a class=\"gb-button gb-button-5003992f gb-button-text\" href=\"https:\/\/teachcomputerscience.com\/a-level\/exchanging-data\/network-security\/\">View A-Level Network Security Resources<\/a>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Phishing<\/strong>&nbsp;is a term used to describe a harmful individual, or group of individuals, that cheats users by sending&nbsp;emails&nbsp;or creating&nbsp;web pages&nbsp;that are intended to collect an individual&#8217;s online bank, credit card, or other login information. The emails and web pages look official, which is why users trust them and voluntarily part with their personal information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Phishing is a form of deception in which an attacker disguises themselves as a decent entity, or as a regular person through email or other communication channels.&nbsp; The attacker uses phishing emails to distribute malicious links or attachments that can execute a variety of functions, like extracting login credentials and account information from various victims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Phishing is popular among cybercriminals, as it is far easier to trick someone into clicking a malicious link in a seemingly legitimate phishing email than to attempt to break through a computer&#8217;s defenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/teachcomputerscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/070-virus.png\" alt=\"phishing\" class=\"wp-image-5762\" width=\"217\" height=\"217\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/teachcomputerscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/070-virus.png 512w, https:\/\/teachcomputerscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/070-virus-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/teachcomputerscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/070-virus-300x300.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 217px) 100vw, 217px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Phishing Works<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Phishing attacks typically count on&nbsp;social networking&nbsp;techniques used in email or other electronic communication methods\u2014like direct messages sent over social networks, SMS text messages, and other instant messaging formats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Phishers may use&nbsp;social engineering&nbsp;and other public sources of information, like social network data, to gather background information about the victim&#8217;s personal and work history, as well as their interests, hobbies, and activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prior to the phishing attack, hackers can discover names, job titles, and email addresses of potential victims, in addition to information about their colleagues and the names of key employees in their organizations.\u00a0 This information is then used to create a realistic email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ways to Identify Phishing Emails<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Company&nbsp;\u2013 The emails are sent out to thousands of different email addresses. If you have no connection with the company the email address is supposedly coming from, it can only be bogus.<\/li><li>Spelling and grammar&nbsp;\u2013 Misspelled words and incorrect grammar are almost always a dead giveaway. Look out for errors that a professional outfit wouldn\u2019t make.<\/li><li>No reference to account information \u2013 If the company is informing you of errors on your account, it would use your account or username as a reference in the email. If there\u2019s no direct reference to your account information present in the email, chances are it\u2019s a phishing attempt.<\/li><li>Deadlines&nbsp;\u2013 Fraudulent emails often require an immediate response, or set a specific, fast-approaching deadline.<\/li><li>Links&nbsp;\u2013 Often the email will include a link to a <a href=\"http:\/\/teachcomputerscience.com\/uniform-resource-locator\/\">URL<\/a> that is not connected to the company&#8217;s URL.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ways to Handle a Suspicious Email<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Never&nbsp;click any links in an email. Instead of clicking the link in the email, visit the page by manually typing in the address of the company. This is time-consuming, but well worth the effort.<\/li><li>Never&nbsp;send any personal information through email. If a company is requesting personal information about your account\u2014or is telling that your account is invalid\u2014visit the web page and log into the account as you normally would.<\/li><li>If you are still worried about your account, or have concerns about your personal information, contact the company directly, either through their email address or over the phone.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Issues Phishing Emails Commonly Address<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Account issues: things like your account or password expiring; notices of your account having been hacked; references to out-of-date account information that you need to update.<\/li><li>Credit card or other personal information: being told that your credit card is expired, or is being stolen; mention of incorrect social security numbers or other personal information; unsolicited discussion of the possibility of a duplicate credit card, or other personal information.<\/li><li>Confirming orders: a request that you log in to confirm recent orders or transactions.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Common Companies Affected by Phishing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Major banks<\/li><li>Popular websites<\/li><li>Government<\/li><li><a class=\"wpil_internal_link\" style=\"display: inline !important; width: auto !important;\" href=\"http:\/\/teachcomputerscience.com\/internet-service-provider\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-wpil-post-to-id=\"2642\">Internet service providers<\/a><\/li><li>Casinos and lottery<\/li><li>Online dating or community websites<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What to do when you have fallen for a Phishing Attack?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Log into your account using the company page and change your password immediately.<\/li><li>Scan your computer in order to identify malware,&nbsp;in case your computer has become infected before you got a chance to change your password.<\/li><li>If the company supports&nbsp;two-factor authentication, enable this feature on your account.<\/li><li>If you believe your personal information has been stolen, watch all of your accounts for suspicious activity, and report any incongruous purchases to your bank, who often have specific cybercrime units in place in order to mitigate the damage as much as possible.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-02c7c15c gb-headline-text\"><strong>Further Reading:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Phishing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Phishing<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Phishing&nbsp;is a term used to describe a harmful individual, or group of individuals, that cheats users by sending&nbsp;emails&nbsp;or creating&nbsp;web pages&nbsp;that are intended to collect an individual&#8217;s online bank, credit card, or other login information. The emails and web pages look official, which is why users trust them and voluntarily part with their personal information. Phishing &#8230; <\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more-container\"><a title=\"Phishing\" class=\"read-more button\" href=\"https:\/\/teachcomputerscience.com\/phishing\/\" aria-label=\"More on Phishing\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_generate-full-width-content":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[204,47],"class_list":["post-2522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ethics","tag-article","tag-hide-old-upsell","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teachcomputerscience.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teachcomputerscience.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teachcomputerscience.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teachcomputerscience.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teachcomputerscience.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2522"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/teachcomputerscience.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2522\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":683940,"href":"https:\/\/teachcomputerscience.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2522\/revisions\/683940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teachcomputerscience.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teachcomputerscience.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teachcomputerscience.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}