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CERTIFIED-IN-CYBERSECURITY · Question #168

CERTIFIED-IN-CYBERSECURITY Question #168: Real Exam Question with Answer & Explanation

The correct answer is B: Spear phishing. Spear phishing is a highly targeted phishing attack (and not just random spam) which aims to get specific individuals to reveal confidential information. The particularity of spear phishing is that these attacks are sent with prior knowledge about the target (person or company),

Domain 1: Security Principles

Question

Which of these social engineering attacks sends emails that target specific individuals?

Options

  • AWhaling
  • BSpear phishing
  • CPharming
  • DVishing

Explanation

Spear phishing is a highly targeted phishing attack (and not just random spam) which aims to get specific individuals to reveal confidential information. The particularity of spear phishing is that these attacks are sent with prior knowledge about the target (person or company), so as to increase its chance of success. Whaling is a phishing attack targeted at a group (typically an organization's executives) (see ISC2 Study Guide, chapter 4, module 3). A pharming attack corrupts an infrastructure service such as DNS (Domain Name System), which causes traffic to be misdirected to a forged site, thereby getting users to reveal sensitive information or download malware. Therefore, pharming is not directed at a specific individual. Vishing is an attack carried out by voice where the attacker calls the victim (for example, claiming they are from their bank).

Topics

#Social engineering#Phishing#Email security#Cybersecurity threats

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