Episode notes
The architecture of a modern phishing attack is a sophisticated, multi-stage operation that integrates technical infrastructure with a deep understanding of human psychology. It is far more complex than a simple scam.
The attack typically begins with reconnaissance, where attackers gather intelligence on their targets from public sources like social media to craft highly personalized and believable lures . This is followed by the infrastructure setup, which involves creating deceptive domains using techniques like typosquatting or IDN spoofing to make the sender's address look legitimate . Attackers also use "bulletproof hosting" services that ignore takedown requests, ensuring their malicious websites remain operational .
The phishing lure itself is a masterclass in social engineerin ...
Keywords
Phishing, Social Engineering, Cyber Attack Lifecycle, Reconnaissance, Spear Phishing, Whaling, Business Email Compromise (BEC), Domain Spoofing, Typo-squatting, IDN Spoofing, Bulletproof Hosting, Malicious Payload, Quishing (QR Phishing), Callback Ph