Cyber Security 101: What is Phishing?

There are many types of cyberattacks that hackers use to gain information, files, and other assets from individuals and companies. Staying protected from these is crucial.

With phishing attacks among one of the most common types of scams, we want to help you get ahead of those threats with a guide to the different types of scams and how you can protect yourself. 

What is Phishing?

Phishing is defined as a type of cybersecurity threat used by scammers to steal information. Phishing malware is usually disguised in a fake website that is made to look like a real one owned by a genuine institution.

The purpose is to lead people to these websites, where they enter their details, and scammers can then use these details to access people's personal accounts.

People are usually led to these fraudulent sites through a phishing scam email. The email will typically look like it is from a bank or website that the victim has an account with. Following a link in a phishing email may render you completely exposed as the scammer can access any information you then enter.

Phishing is one of the largest cybersecurity threats on the web but can be avoided and protected against if the right measures are taken. When you spot one, you can report a phishing email, but that won't necessarily stop more from coming in.

Phishing attack examples

There are many different phishing examples. Understanding how they all work will help you spot them in the future.

• Phishing Email
• Spear Phishing
• Whale Phishing or Whaling
• Mass Campaigns
• Ambulance Chasing Phishing
• Pretexting
• Smashing / Mobile Phishing
• Smishing

To learn more about these types of Phishing attacks view our blog "Common Type of Phishing Attacks"

How to protect users from phishing

One of the ways to protect your customers from phishing scams is to make sure everyone is properly trained. Being able to spot scams and take immediate action will help keep everything secure. Beyond this, there are several cybersecurity measures you can take for better levels of security. Datto offers advanced threat protection for email which will help to automatically block phishing emails of all types as well as reliable SaaS backup solutions for a multi layered security solution

Learn more about phishing symptoms and how to protect against phishing. 

Mitigate phishing attacks with Datto SaaS Defence

With Datto SaaS Defence, Managed Service providers or MSPs can proactively help customers defend against malware, business email compromise (BEC), and phishing attacks that target Microsoft Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams.