Malicious Links

Over 90% of all data breaches begin with a phish? Information pertaining to millions of people has been stolen as a result of these attacks.

Targeted phishing, or spear phishing messages, are personalized to make individual recipients more susceptible to the attack, and 60% of all spear phishing attacks target small- or medium-sized organizations like ours. The email you just received resembles a click-only spear phishing attack that a criminal might have sent your way.

What Is A Click Only Attack?

Click only attacks compromise your security through malicious hyperlinks. These links direct the user to a website controlled by the attacker, often disguised as a legitimate website. These websites can install malware on your computer as soon as you visit the site and without your knowledge. You can mitigate the danger of click only attacks by examining any link thoroughly before clicking. Every link consists of two parts:

1. Anchor – The “clickable” text or image seen in the body of the email.
2. Destination – Where a link truly leads.

You can view the destination of a link by:

• Hovering over the anchor (Desktop Devices)
• Holding the link for a few seconds until the destination is displayed (Mobile Devices)

If the destination does not lead where you expect it to, or you are unable to determine the destination, it is best to avoid clicking on the link.