A company’s employees were victims of a spear phishing campaign impersonating the CEO. The
company would now like to implement a solution to improve the overall security posture by
assuring their employees that email originated from the CEO. Which of the following controls could
they implement to BEST meet this goal?
A.
Spam filter
B.
Digital signatures
C.
Antivirus software
D.
Digital certificates
First, for a differentiation which shall be found in some questions of the Security+ exam.
It is all a play on the word Fishing. The difference between one and the other is that at times a perpetrator has “bigger fish to fry”
PHISHING: Phishing is a broader term for any attempt to trick victims into sharing sensitive information such as passwords, usernames, and credit card details for malicious reasons. (ANY FISH)
SPEAR PHISING: is an email-spoofing attack that targets a specific organization or individual, seeking unauthorized access to sensitive information. Spear-phishing attempts are not typically initiated by random hackers, but are more likely to be conducted by perpetrators out for financial gain, trade secrets or military information. (A SPECIFIC SCHOOL OF FISH)
WHALING: Whaling is a specific form of phishing that’s targeted at high-profile business executive’s manager, and the like. … Note: Spear phishing is a phishing attack against someone specific, like an individual or company. Therefore, whaling may also be considered spear phishing, (AN SPECIFIC SINGLE BIG FISH – A WHALE)
As for the MEDIUM, Spear phishing is an EMAIL or ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS scam targeted towards a specific individual, organization or business. Although often intended to steal data for malicious purposes, cybercriminals may also intend to install malware on a targeted user’s computer.
INCORRECT ANSWERS
A.Spam filter: A phishing email is constructed in such a way to impersonate the CEO that it has clearly not been perceived as a spam. A spam filter then is not the best solution
C. Antivirus software : Phishing emails do not contain Virus, hence an Antivirus software is of little help
D. Digital certificates – A Digital Certificate is an electronic “password” that allows a person, organizaion to exchange data securely over the Internet using the public key infrastructure (PKI). Digital Certificate is also known as a public key certificate or identity certificate. It is used with Browsers and the internet, and not with email systems
So the correct answers is : B.Digital signatures
A digital signature is a mathematical technique used to validate the authenticity and integrity of a message, software, or digital document.
The digital equivalent of a handwritten signature or stamped seal, but offering far more inherent security, a digital signature is intended to solve the problem of tampering and impersonation in digital communications.
Digital signatures can provide the added assurances of evidence to origin, identity and status of an electronic document, transaction or message, as well as acknowledging informed consent by the signer.
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