For example, an attacker may send an email to a CEO requesting payment, pretending to be a client of the company. Whaling attacks always personally address targeted individuals, often using their title, position and phone number, which are obtained using company websites, social media or the press.

What is meant by the term Whaling '?

Definition of whaling : the occupation of catching and extracting commercial products from whales.

What is phishing and whaling?

Whaling, or whale phishing, is a kind of phishing attack where hackers target executives and high profile end users, using social-engineering tactics to trick them into initiating financial transactions or divulging sensitive information.

What is whaling and how do you prevent it?

Unlike traditional phishing campaigns, whaling doesn’t involve employees clicking on links or becoming infected with malware. Rather, the goal of a whaling attack is to trick an individual into disclosing sensitive information through social engineering, email spoofing and website spoofing techniques.

What type of phishing is whaling?

A whaling attack is a special form of spear phishing that targets specific high-ranking victims within a company. Spear phishing attacks can target any specific individual. Both types of attack generally require more time and effort on the part of the attacker than ordinary phishing attacks.

Is whaling illegal?

Whaling is illegal in most countries, however Iceland, Norway, and Japan still actively engage in whaling . Over a thousand whales are killed each year for their meat and body parts to be sold for commercial gain. … Whale meat is even used in pet food, or served to tourists as a ‘traditional dish’.

What does a whaler do?

Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industry as early as 875 AD.

What is Smishing in cyber security?

Smishing is a form of phishing in which an attacker uses a compelling text message to trick targeted recipients into clicking a link and sending the attacker private information or downloading malicious programs to a smartphone. … Many users are already aware of the dangers of clicking a link in email messages.

When did whaling begin?

Whaling as an industry began around the 11th Century when the Basques started hunting and trading the products from the northern right whale (now one of the most endangered of the great whales). They were followed first by the Dutch and the British, and later by the Americans, Norwegians and many other nations.

What is group phishing?

Phishing attacks are social engineering attacks, and they can have a great range of targets depending on the attacker. They could be generic scam emails looking for anyone with a PayPal account. Phishing can also be a targeted attack focused on a specific individual.

Article first time published on

How many types of phishing are there?

With a better understanding of the twelve types of phishing attacks and how to identify them, organizations can protect their users and their data more effectively.

What is a whaling campaign?

Whaling is a common cyber attack that occurs when an attacker utilizes spear phishing methods to go after a large, high-profile target, such as the c-suite.

What is whaling in money laundering?

A whaling attack is a method used by cybercriminals to masquerade as a senior player at an organization and directly target senior or other important individuals at an organization, with the aim of stealing money or sensitive information or gaining access to their computer systems for criminal purposes.

How is Spearphishing different from phishing?

The difference between them is primarily a matter of targeting. Phishing emails are sent to very large numbers of recipients, more or less at random, with the expectation that only a small percentage will respond. … Spear phishing emails are carefully designed to get a single recipient to respond.

Where do cybercriminals find their targets?

Cybercriminals are patient. They routinely trawl through social networks to identify high-potential targets, before learning more about them by scouring their public profiles for details on their history, their job, their activities, their interests.

How is whaling done?

Traditional whalers in the United States use hand-held harpoons to ensnare whales, and then kill them with high-powered rifles. They have also used penthrite bombs and black powder.

Why was whaling important?

Nearly every part of the whale was used. Meat, skin, blubber, and organs were eaten as an important source of protein, fats, vitamins, and minerals. Baleen was woven into baskets and used as fishing line. In warmer climates, baleen was also used as a roofing material.

Why is whaling bad?

Whaling is the hunting of whales. People killed them for oil and whalebone primarily, but sperm whales additionally provided ambergris on occasion. It is bad because whales were hunted to excess, and all species are still incredibly rare. Worse, it is impossible to humanely kill a whale, so it is incredibly cruel.

How much is a whale worth?

After accounting for the economic benefits whales provide to industries such as ecotourism—and how much carbon they remove from the atmosphere by “sinking” it in their carbon-dense bodies—the researchers estimate that one great whale is worth about $2 million over the course of its life, they report in the trade …

Are whales endangered 2021?

A group of scientists and ocean life advocates says a type of whale that is one of the rarest marine mammals in the world lost nearly 10% of its population last year. Oct. 25, 2021, at 11:48 a.m.

What country kills the most whales?

Norway has surpassed Japan and Iceland in its whale hunting quotas (which do not include dolphins), and now officially kills more whales than any country in the world.

Why did the whaling industry end?

The standard explanation for the decline of whaling in the second half of the century is a pat two-parter consisting of falling demand (from alternative sources for energy) and falling supply (from over-hunting). … In the middle of the 19th century, whale oil prices increased, which should have led to more production.

What is the whale population?

The North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium said that the whale’s population dropped from an estimated 366 in 2019 to 336 in 2020, a decline of 8%. The group said this is the lowest population number for the species in nearly two decades. In the past decade alone, researchers said, the species has declined by 30%.

What is vishing and smishing?

Smishing and vishing are two types of fraud that use SMS (smishing) and voice (vishing) to trick people into giving up money or personal information.

What is tailgating in cyber security?

Tailgating is a simple social engineering attack enabling hackers to gain access to a password-protected or otherwise off-limits physical location. Tailgating involves closely following an authorized person into a restricted access area.

What is whaling in cyber security quizlet?

A whaling attack, also known as whaling phishing or a whaling phishing attack, is a specific type of phishing attack that targets high-profile employees, such as the CEO or CFO, in order to steal sensitive information from a company, as those that hold higher positions within the company typically have complete access …

What is social en?

Social engineering is the art of manipulating people so they give up confidential information. … Criminals use social engineering tactics because it is usually easier to exploit your natural inclination to trust than it is to discover ways to hack your software.

What is phishing techniques?

Phishing is a type of social engineering attack often used to steal user data, including login credentials and credit card numbers. It occurs when an attacker, masquerading as a trusted entity, dupes a victim into opening an email, instant message, or text message.

Why is phishing spelled with a ph?

Its “ph” spelling is influenced by an earlier word for an illicit act: “phreaking.” Phreaking involves fraudulently using an electronic device to avoid paying for telephone calls, and its name is suspected of being a shortening of “phone freak.” A common phishing scam involves sending e-mails that appear to come from …

What involves phishing?

Phishing attacks are the practice of sending fraudulent communications that appear to come from a reputable source. It is usually done through email. The goal is to steal sensitive data like credit card and login information, or to install malware on the victim’s machine.

What is smurfing in AML?

Smurfing is a money-laundering technique involving the structuring of large amounts of cash into multiple small transactions. … Smurfing is a form of structuring, in which criminals use small, cumulative transactions to remain below financial reporting requirements.