The Intranet phishing: attack mechanisms and protection in the digital world

Briefly about the essence

Phishing is one of the most common cybercrimes, in which criminals impersonate legitimate organizations to steal confidential data. Recognizing the signs of attacks and implementing preventive measures significantly reduce risks. From basic types of electronic phishing to complex social manipulations, understanding the tactics of criminals is critically important for protection.

How Internet Phishing Works

Internet phishing is based on social engineering - a method of psychological manipulation where cybercriminals persuade individuals to voluntarily disclose private information. Malefactors prepare meticulously: they gather personal data from social networks, research the target of the attack, and then create the most convincing messages on behalf of authoritative companies or familiar contacts.

The classic scenario involves receiving an email with a malicious link or attachment. By clicking on such a link, the user is redirected to a fake website designed to steal login credentials, financial information, or to install malware on the device.

Although crudely crafted phishing emails are easy to spot, modern cybercriminals employ advanced technologies: AI-based chatbots, voice generators, and text synthesis. This makes it difficult to distinguish real messages from fake ones, even for experienced users.

Attack Recognition: What to Look Out For

Typical signs of phishing messages

Be cautious if you receive a letter with the following signs:

• Suspicious links — The URL address differs from the official website of the company.
• Public email addresses — emails from supposed representatives of the company come from gmail.com or similar services.
• Artificial urgency — “confirm immediately”, “your account will be blocked”, “limited time”
• Requests for personal data — real companies never ask for PINs, passwords, or card details via email.
• Text errors — spelling and grammatical mistakes, awkward constructions

Useful tip: hover over the link to see the actual URL without clicking on it.

Phishing of payment systems

Criminals often impersonate popular money transfer services, asking users to “verify login details.” Such letters require users to step-by-step fill out a login form on a fake website, where all entered data goes to the criminals.

Financial schemes

Fraudsters contact on behalf of banks or financial institutions, reporting a “security issue” or the need for “immediate updates.” Popular tactics include:

• Deceptive messages about fund transfers
• Direct deposit schemes aimed at new hires
• The myth of the necessity of “account verification”

Corporate attacks

In such attacks, the criminals impersonate company executives — CEOs, CFOs. They request urgent fund transfers, purchase support, or access provision. Voice phishing using AI voice synthesis is a modern and effective form of such deception.

Types of Internet Phishing

Clone phishing

The attacker copies an official email from a real company, changes the links to malicious ones, and sends it as an “update” or “correction of a previous mistake.” Victims often believe this is a resend from the same sender.

Targeted attacks (spiring)

Unlike mass mailings, such attacks are directed at a specific person or institution. The attacker carefully studies the victim - finds the names of friends, colleagues, family members, their positions - and uses this information to create a highly personalized message. The effect of social engineering works much stronger.

Farming

Cybercriminals are hacking DNS records and redirecting traffic from the official website to a counterfeit site controlled by them. Unlike phishing, here the user does not make a mistake — they are trying to reach the correct site but receive an error due to compromised infrastructure. This is especially dangerous because DNS records are beyond the control of the average user.

Whaling (

A form of targeted phishing aimed at influencers — CEOs, politicians, wealthy individuals. The attacks are prepared more meticulously and often result in greater losses.

) Email spoofing

Phishing emails disguise themselves as messages from real companies or individuals. On the fake login page, credentials and personal information are stolen. Such pages may contain trojans, keyloggers, and other malicious scripts.

Redirect attacks

The user is redirected to a URL that differs from the intended one. Exploiting vulnerabilities, attackers install malware on the computer.

Typingquotting

Malefactors register domains with common spelling mistakes ###, for example, “binence” instead of “binance”(. Users who mistype the address end up on a counterfeit site that mimics the design of the original.

) Fake paid advertisements

Criminals create ads with fake domains and pay for their placement in search results. The ads can even be shown in Google's TOP, which adds to their legitimacy.

Pour the hole ###watering hole(

Malefactors identify websites that target users frequently visit, scan these sites for vulnerabilities, and deploy malicious scripts. When a victim visits such a site, they are automatically infected.

) Pretending to be others on social media

Malefactors create fake accounts of influential individuals, conduct giveaways and contests with the condition of transferring funds. In addition, they may hack verified accounts and change user names while retaining verification status. Recently, such attacks have been actively carried out on Discord, X, Telegram.

Harmful mobile applications

Malicious actors are distributing applications in the guise of price trackers, wallets, and calculators. These programs can track activity, steal key data, or spread malware.

SMS and voice phishing ###smishing and vishing(

Attacks via text messages and voice calls prompt users to disclose personal information. Such methods often prove to be more effective, as people are less vigilant about SMS and calls than about emails.

Phishing vs. Farming: What's the Difference

Although farming is often considered a subtype of phishing, they have fundamental differences. Phishing requires the victim to make an active mistake — clicking on a malicious link, entering data on a counterfeit site. Farming, on the other hand, works without the user's participation — it is sufficient to simply attempt to access a legitimate website whose records have been compromised. This makes farming a more dangerous attack.

Protection against phishing attacks

) Basic security measures

• Do not click on direct links from emails — instead, open the company's official website in your browser or call the number from their website.
• Install reliable antivirus software — modern solutions detect phishing sites and malware.
• Use spam filters — configure your email client as conservatively as possible
• Enable two-factor authentication — even if the password is compromised, a hacker will not be able to access the account without the second factor.

Technical Solutions

Organizations must implement email authentication standards:

• DKIM ###DomainKeys Identified Mail( — signs emails with the private key of the domain
• DMARC )Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance( — defines the policy for processing emails that failed verification.

) Education and Awareness

• Regularly inform your loved ones about phishing risks
• Companies should conduct training for employees
• Conduct fixed phishing tests to assess the team's readiness level.
• Cultivate a culture of critical attitude towards any requests for personal data

Where to get additional assistance

Organizations that want to deepen their knowledge about phishing can contact:

• Anti-phishing working groups and regional security initiatives
• Resources of state authorities on cybersecurity
• Specialized information security consultants

Phishing in the World of Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain

Blockchain technology provides reliable cryptographic data protection through decentralization; however, users in the crypto space remain vulnerable to social engineering.

Cybercriminals are attacking crypto users in various ways:

• Theft of private keys — through phishing sites that imitate popular wallets
• Seed phrase compromise — phishing specifically aimed at extracting the backup phrase
• Fake addresses — directing users to counterfeit addresses for transferring funds
• Fake tokens — the creation of fake versions of popular tokens

In most cases, successful phishing in crypto is based on human error rather than technical vulnerabilities. Rational thinking, checking URLs, and active monitoring are the best defenses.

Conclusions

Understanding the mechanisms of phishing and its varieties is an integral part of digital hygiene. Internet phishing is constantly evolving, adapting to new platforms and technologies. By combining technical means ###PO, two-factor authentication (, education, and critical thinking, you significantly reduce the risks of becoming a victim of a malicious actor.

Stay SAFU!