Evolution of Spear Phishing

Whitepaper

Published October 2020

Barracuda

Phishing is a well-known security threat, but few people understand the difference between phishing and spear phishing. Spear phishing is the latest evolution in the phishing trend; it’s highly targeted and rapidly becoming the most significant security threat today. According to the FBI, there were 40,000 reported spear phishing incidents between October 2013 and December 2016. Further, Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks resulting from spear phishing have cost organizations $5 billion in reported losses. This white paper reviews the evolution of spear phishing, key targets, and best practices to prevent these pervasive attacks.