Examines whaling attacks — highly targeted phishing campaigns directed at senior executives, board members, and other high-value individuals within organizations. Learn how attackers craft convincing executive-level lures, the financial and reputational damage whaling causes, and defensive measures to stop these precision threats.
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A Single Email Cost This Company $47 Million In 2016, Austrian aerospace manufacturer FACC fired its CEO after a whaling attack tricked an employee into wiring €42 million to a threat actor's account. The attacker impersonated the CEO via email, requested an urgent fund transfer for a fake
The CFO Who Wired $25 Million to a Threat Actor In early 2024, a finance worker at engineering firm Arup was tricked into transferring $25 million after attending a video call with what appeared to be the company's CFO and other colleagues. Every person on that call was
The $47 Million Email That Fooled a Fortune 500 CFO In 2016, an Austrian aerospace company called FACC lost €42 million (roughly $47 million USD) because a threat actor impersonated the CEO in an email to the finance department. The message requested an urgent wire transfer for a fake acquisition
In 2016, an employee at Austrian aerospace firm FACC wired $47 million to a bank account controlled by criminals — because an email that looked like it came from the CEO told them to. The CEO was fired. The CFO was fired. The company's stock tanked. That single email
The CEO Who Wired $17 Million to a Criminal In 2016, an executive at Austrian aerospace parts manufacturer FACC received what appeared to be a routine email from the company's CEO. The message instructed a wire transfer of approximately €42 million — roughly $47 million — to accounts controlled by
A Single Email Cost This Company $46.7 Million In 2015, Ubiquiti Networks disclosed that threat actors impersonated senior executives and tricked employees into wiring $46.7 million to overseas accounts. The attackers didn't exploit a software vulnerability. They didn't deploy ransomware. They sent emails — carefully
