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john commented on the word spear phishing
“Another approach, one used in the Google attacks, is a variation on so-called phishing schemes, in which an e-mail message purporting to be from the recipient’s bank or another institution tricks the person into giving up passwords. Scammers send such messages to thousands of people in hopes of ensnaring a few. But with so-called spear-phishing, the bogus e-mail is sent to a specific person and appears to come from a friend or colleague inside that person’s company, making it far more believable.”
The New York Times, The Lock That Says ‘Pick Me’ , by Steve Lohr, January 17, 2010
January 18, 2010
frogapplause commented on the word spear phishing
"...the most common targets are government agencies and senior managers and executives; the spear phishing of such big game is commonly referred to as “whaling.”
The New York Times,
June 4, 2011