phishing

Spear Phishing

A targeted phishing attack directed at specific individuals or organizations. Unlike generic phishing, spear phishing uses personalized information gathered from social media, company websites, or data breaches to appear more credible.

Extended Explanation

Spear phishing campaigns often reference the target by name, mention their job role, recent activities, or colleagues to build trust. These attacks have significantly higher success rates than generic phishing because they exploit personal context. They are frequently used as the initial vector in advanced persistent threats (APTs) and business email compromise schemes.