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What Is Phishing

Foundational articles explaining what phishing is, how it evolved, and why it remains one of the most prevalent cyber threats today. Covers the various forms of phishing, common targets, and the impact of successful phishing campaigns on individuals and businesses.

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Phishing

What Is Phishing? A Security Pro's Real-World Guide

A Single Email Cost This Company $100 Million In 2017, a Lithuanian man tricked Google and Facebook employees into wiring over $100 million to bank accounts he controlled. His weapon wasn't malware. It wasn't a zero-day exploit. It was email. He sent invoices that looked like

Carl B. Johnson Apr 05, 2026 5 min read
Phishing

What Is Phishing? The Attack Behind 36% of Breaches

In March 2021, a massive phishing campaign impersonating Microsoft Office 365 hit over 10,000 mailboxes across the financial services sector in a single week. The emails were nearly flawless — correct logos, legitimate-looking sender domains, and urgent language about password expiration. Dozens of employees handed over their credentials before anyone

Carl B. Johnson Aug 31, 2021 7 min read
Phishing Scams

What Is a Phishing Scam? Anatomy of the #1 Cyber Threat

In July 2021, a single phishing email gave attackers access to an employee's credentials at a Florida-based managed service provider, ultimately cascading into the massive Kaseya VSA supply-chain ransomware attack that hit over 1,500 businesses worldwide. One email. One click. Billions in damages. If you've

Carl B. Johnson Aug 18, 2021 7 min read
Phishing

What Is Phishing? The Attack Behind 80% of Breaches

In 2023, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center received over 298,000 phishing complaints — making it the most reported cybercrime for the fifth consecutive year. And those are just the ones people reported. I've spent years helping organizations respond to breaches, and the vast majority start

Carl B. Johnson Mar 04, 2020 7 min read
What Is Phishing

What Is Phishing? A Security Pro's Real-World Guide

The Email That Cost One Company $121 Million In 2019, a Lithuanian man was sentenced to five years in prison for phishing Google and Facebook out of over $121 million. He sent fake invoices from a spoofed vendor email address. Employees at two of the most technically sophisticated companies on

Carl B. Johnson Jan 23, 2020 7 min read
Phishing

What Is Phishing? The Attack Behind 80% of Breaches

In 2023, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center received over 298,000 phishing complaints — making it the most reported cybercrime for the fifth consecutive year. Yet every week, I still talk to business owners who think phishing is just "those obvious Nigerian prince emails." It'

Carl B. Johnson Jul 04, 2019 7 min read