What Is Spear Phishing Attack? Phishing Vs Spear Phishing

Spear phishing, how it works, indicators of a spear phishing attempt, an example (suspicious) email – and why it’s suspicious, and a comparison between phishing vs spear phishing are all discussed in this topic.

What is spear phishing attack?

Spear phishing is a type of targeted cyberattack in which highly customised emails are used to trick particular people or organisations into disclosing private information, sending money, or downloading malicious software. In contrast to wide phishing schemes, spear phishing entails a great deal of study on the part of the attackers to obtain personal information from social media and other sources. This enables them to pose as reliable organisations and craft compelling communications that take advantage of human weaknesses like urgency and trust.

How Spear Phishing Works

Usually, a spear phishing attack involves several steps:

Establishing a Goal and Selecting a Target

The attacker initially establishes the objective, which frequently include distributing malware (such as ransomware), stealing login credentials, or obtaining private data. They pick a target, usually mid-level professionals with higher privileges (such as HR, IT, and financial managers), who may be less strict about policy than top leaders.

Research and Reconnaissance

Using public resources, the attacker conducts extensive research on the target, compiling information such as their name, email address, work function, friends, family, hometown, employer, business associates, and recent activities. This in-depth study is essential to creating a compelling message.

Impersonation and Message Crafting

The attacker assumes a false identity that the target will believe, such as a vendor, business partner, coworker, or supervisor. The customised letter is written to seem quite genuine, frequently mentioning particular, genuine-sounding information about the target’s job or connections.

Execution and Social Engineering

The message employs social engineering techniques to psychologically coerce the recipient, frequently by invoking a sense of urgency (“do this now,” “due today”) or evoking deference to authority (by pretending to be a CEO). There is a “call to action” in the message:

• Malicious Links: Sending the target to a phoney login page where credentials are stolen.
• Malicious Attachments: Including malicious software that infects the system when it is opened, such as Office documents with macros, ISO files, and LNK files.
• Requests for Information/Transfer: requesting private information directly or giving the target instructions to send money immediately to a fictitious account.

The Role of AI: As generative AI becomes more widely available, spear phishing is becoming more complex since scammers can now automate the extraction of target information and create convincing messages in minutes as opposed to the 16 hours it could take to do so by hand.

Also Read About Email Phishing Attacks, Why Do Hackers Use Phishing Emails?

Indicators of a Spear Phishing Attempt

Users need to be alert and watch for warning signs because these attacks are so convincing:

Unusual Urgency: The message demands that you take action right away, frequently by threatening dire repercussions if you don’t.

Sender Details: Although the sender’s display name appears to be correct, the email address is either external, incorrect, or uses a subtly compromised domain (paypa1.com instead of paypal.com, for example).

Unusual Requests: Requests for private data, login credentials, money transfers, or wire transfers that don’t follow standard business procedures.

• Unexpected sense of urgency (“confidential,” “do this now”).
• The email address is incorrect or uses an external domain, yet the sender’s display name appears to be correct.
• Links that hover to strange domains or don’t match the content that is seen.
• Files with odd extensions (.exe,.iso,.scr,.zip containing.doc, and macro-enabled.docm).
• Formatting errors or an unusual signature for a recognised internal contact.
• Requests for wire transfers, cash, credentials, or private information.
• Despite coming from outside, the email claims to be internal (check headers).

Instead of responding to a suspicious email, end users should confirm the request by getting in touch with the sender through a reliable, other channel (such as an internal chat or phone call).

Example (suspicious) email – and why it’s suspicious

From: “Thota Nithya – Finance” Nithya.thota@finance-payments.com
Subject: “Urgent: Approve wire transfer for vendor – due today”

Why it’s suspicious

• Your company domain is not the sender domain.
• Request an urgent payment to avoid the regular procedure.
• Unusual for this sender; no previous background or interaction.
• The “WireInstructions.docm” attachment is macro-enabled.

Also Read About Types Of Password Attacks And How Password Attacks Work?

What to do immediately (end-user steps)

• Avoid opening attachments or clicking links.
• Don’t respond to the dubious email; instead, confirm by getting in touch with the sender via a reliable method (phone, internal chat).
• Use the proper reporting channel to notify your IT/security staff (forward the complete message with headers).
• Disconnect the device from the network, alert security right away, and adhere to incident response instructions if you followed a link or opened an attachment.

Email analysis basics (what security teams look for)

• Examine the entire email header, including the SPF result, DKIM signature, DMARC result, Return-Path, and Received chain.
• If necessary, verify the sender domain registration and WHOIS; contrast with domains belonging to known vendors.
• Do not visit URLs directly; instead, extract them and sandbox them.
• Examine attachment in a sandbox setting that is isolated.
• To determine scope, look for comparable messages in all mail logs.

Incident response checklist (if a spear-phish is confirmed)

• Isolate impacted accounts or systems to contain them.
• Export complete headers, the message source, attachments, and logs to preserve evidence.
• Eradicate: update mail filters, ban sender domains and IPs, and delete malicious files.
• Recover by rotating compromised credentials and, if required, re-imaging compromised hosts.
• Hunt: look for further hijacked accounts, lateral movement, and repurposed indicators in logs.
• If necessary, notify the affected consumers (if data was exposed), legal, leadership, and regulators.
• Enhance: implement targeted awareness training, modify policies, and add IOCs to blocklists.

Quick reporting template for users (what to include)

• When you received the email, note the timestamp (including time zone).
• Whole email (forward with message source and headers).
• Any credentials entered, attachments opened, or links clicked.
• A duplicate of the displayed name and the sender address as it appears.
• Any systems (home PC, mobile, or work laptop) that are utilized.

Phishing vs Spear Phishing

Spear phishing is distinct from general phishing in its level of focus and preparation:

Because it is customised, spear phishing is regarded as one of the most successful types of phishing. According to one analysis, spear phishing was responsible for 66% of successful breaches but only made up 0.1% of emails.

Also Read About Different Types Of MitM Attack, How It Work And Advantages