CEO Phishing -- Can You Trust Your Boss's Emails?

[mdabuhasan]

CEO phishing attacks are on the rise. How can companies protect themselves?
1. Introduction
According to the FBI, this increase in CEO phishing is due to cunning scammers taking advantage of people's trust. Victims, including ordinary people, can be easily fooled by messages that appear legitimate. Let's learn how to stay safe in this brief exploration of this cyber threat.

What is CEO Phishing?
In the cybersecurity world, “CEO phishing” is becoming a serious concern. This deception occurs when cybercriminals impersonate senior company executives, such as the CEO or CFO, to trick employees into revealing phone number data
sensitive information or transferring funds.

Characteristics of CEO Phishing
Phishing is a multi-billion dollar industry. CEO phishing pays big. The FBI says BEC scams are $26 billion and growing. Including a doubling of “CEO phishing.” Scammers target businesses of all sizes. Top countries for fraudulent money transfers: China and Hong Kong. CEO phishing attacks businesses around the world. The FBI reports targets in 177 countries, including the U.S. and the U.K. Scammers use banks in about 140 countries.

How CEO Phishing Works
CEO phishing exploits trust, as employees tend to comply with requests from top management, making them vulnerable to manipulation. Its main goal is to trick employees into transferring funds, sharing financial data, or providing access to confidential information. It occurs when hackers send credible-looking emails to targeted users. CEO phishing Phishing occurs when hackers impersonate a top company official, such as the CEO or CFO.

5. The difference between CEO phishing and regular phishing
Let's look at some other differences between these two types of phishing attacks:CEO phishing is a cunning cyber scam where the scammers first impersonate a senior executive, such as a CEO. They craft spoofed emails or messages that appear to be authentic, often using a similar email address or mimicking the executive's writing style. These messages often request urgent actions, such as wire transfers or sharing confidential data. They exploit trust and hierarchy, manipulating employees into obeying these false commands. Once the victim agrees, the scammers seize financial assets or obtain sensitive information without authorization.