What is a whaling phishing attack? (2023)

FAQs

What are some examples of whaling? ›

For example, an attacker may send an email to a CEO requesting payment, pretending to be a client of the company. Whaling attacks always personally address targeted individuals, often using their title, position and phone number, which are obtained using company websites, social media or the press.

A whaling attack, also known as whaling phishing or a whaling phishing attack, is a specific type of phishing attack that targets high-profile employees, such as the chief executive officer or chief financial officer, in order to steal sensitive information from a company.

Spear phishing is a type of phishing attack in which scammers install malware on the targeted user's system in addition to stealing data for fraudulent objectives, whereas whaling is a cyberattack on high profile persons such as CEOs, CFOs, celebrities, politicians, etc.

There are generally three types of whaling that the Commission regulates: commercial, scientific research, and aboriginal subsistence whaling.

Which Countries Still Hunt Whales? The countries where commercial whale hunting continues are Japan, Norway, and Iceland. Norway kills the most whales of the three countries. Iceland announced in February 2022 that it would stop its commercial whaling practices by 2024.

Examples of Whaling Attacks

In 2016, Snapchat fell victim to a whaling attack when a high-ranking employee fell for a CEO fraud email and revealed employee payroll information. Snapchat reported the incident to the FBI and offered their employees two years of free identity theft insurance.

In 1972, Congress passed the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which makes it illegal for any person residing in the United States to kill, hunt, injure or harass all species of marine mammals, regardless of their population status.

Introduction. Threats to whales include commercial whaling, pollution, ozone depletion, global warming an whale watching.

: the occupation of catching and extracting commercial products from whales.

What is the most common phishing? ›

Deceptive phishing is the most common type of phishing scam. In this ploy, fraudsters impersonate a legitimate company to steal people's personal data or login credentials. Those emails use threats and a sense of urgency to scare users into doing what the attackers want.

By the early 1970s, the United States had listed eight whales as endangered species. The U.S. officially outlawed whaling in 1971. In 1946, several countries joined to form the International Whaling Commission (IWC). The IWC's purpose is to prevent overhunting of whales.

Why did humans hunt whales in the past? In the early days of commercial hunting, whales have been hunted for many products including bones, blubber (oil), the “whalebone” (baleen), and spermaceti, which refers to the oil in the head of sperm whales used to make candles and cosmetics.

Commercial whaling was banned in 1986. However, Japan, Norway, and Iceland have killed nearly 40,000 large whales since then. Over 100,000 dolphins, small whales, and porpoises are also killed in various countries each year.

The standard explanation for the decline of whaling in the second half of the century is a pat two-parter consisting of falling demand (from alternative sources for energy) and falling supply (from over-hunting).

Norwegian Whalers Slaughter 580 Whales During 2022 Season, Highest Number in Six Years. Oslo, Norway—In defiance of a 40-year-old international agreement to protect whales, Norway slaughtered at least 580 whales during the 2022 whaling season—the highest number in six years.

Like other whaling nations, Japan argues hunting and eating whales are part of its culture. A number of coastal communities in Japan have indeed hunted whales for centuries but consumption only became widespread after World War Two when other food was scarce.

The Nordea Bank Incident

Dubbed the "biggest ever online bank heist" by digital security company McAfee, Nordea customers were hit with phishing emails containing Trojan viruses that installed a keylogger into the victims' computers and directed them to a fake bank website where hackers intercepted login credentials.

What is a real life example of phishing? ›

Another classic example is a phishing email from Netflix that says “Your account has been suspended”. It asks you to click a link and give your details to reactivate your account. The attackers then harvest those details and either use them to commit fraud, or sell them on the dark web.

Docile, slow-moving, and sleeping on the surface, the whales were chased by rowboat, struck by harpoon, “played” like fish, and then lanced. Their bodies, which floated after death, were towed to shore for stripping and boiling of the thick blubber and processing of the baleen.

Instead, the number of whales killed during the whaling season in Norway has been increasing steadily over the past five years, from 429 in 2019 to 503 in 2020, and 575 whales in 2021, making Norway the country which has the most whales killed.

Whaling is illegal in most countries, however Iceland, Norway, and Japan still actively engage in whaling . Over a thousand whales are killed each year for their meat and body parts to be sold for commercial gain. Their oil, blubber, and cartilage are used in pharmaceuticals and health supplements.

IWC now has 61 member countries including China , which banned commercial whaling in 1986. Commission regulations allow limited hunting in Japan and other countries in the name of scientific research.

Whales basically have two enemies: Orcas (killer whales, which in fact are not whales, but dolphins) and human beings. Only one type of Orca, the transient orca, is known to attack whales and other marine mammals. Transients Orcas are sometimes referred to as "wolves of the sea" as they will hunt in packs.

Overall, major threats to cetaceans are often the result of either direct or indirect human activity, and include habitat degradation, commercial fishing and whaling, pollution, boat traffic, and climate change.

Current Population Size

The impact of this UME could be seen during our next two surveys, which estimated that the population had declined to approximately 20,500 whales in winter 2019/2020 and even further to approximately 16,650 whales in the winter of 2021/2022.

Look out for: Incorrect (but maybe similar) sender email addresses. Links that don't go to official websites. Spelling or grammar errors, beyond the odd typo, that a legitimate organization wouldn't miss.

What is difference between spam and phishing? ›

Spam is unsolicited email, instant messages, or social media messages. These messages are fairly easy to spot and can be damaging if you open or respond. Phishing is an email sent from an Internet criminal disguised as an email from a legitimate, trustworthy source.

A whaling attack is a method used by cybercriminals to masquerade as a senior player at an organization and directly target senior or other important individuals at an organization, with the aim of stealing money or sensitive information or gaining access to their computer systems for criminal purposes.

Commercial whaling means hunting whales to sell the things that come from whales, like meat, oil and blubber. It was banned in 1986 by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) - a group whose job it is to look after whale conservation - after some species became almost extinct.

Since whales are used for food, the claim that whaling and eating whale products are immoral/unethical is not acceptable. Solely non- consumptive use of whales is simply not justifiable as long as resources are abundant.

Those aged 25 to 44 years are most likely to be targeted, according to results from the Telephone-operated Crime Survey of England and Wales (TCSEW). Traditionally sent via email, phishing involves messages from fraudsters posing as legitimate organisations to extract personal information, or money, from the victim.

The most targeted industries

CISCO's 2021 data suggests that financial services firms are the most likely to be targeted by phishing attacks, having been targeted by 60% more phishing attacks than the next-highest sector (which CISCO identifies as higher education).

Phishing attacks typically rely on social networking techniques applied to email or other electronic communication methods. Some methods include direct messages sent over social networks and SMS text messages.

Look for: Suspicious messages, emails and social posts containing shortened links. Web pages that ask for login credentials. Suspicious emails with uncharacteristic language.

What happens if I click a phishing email? ›

Clicking through a malicious link embedded in a phishing email can have severe consequences including data theft, account compromise and financial loss. One wrong click can also result in serious reputation damage and significant downtime - or even permanent closure - for businesses.

Phishing (pronounced: fishing) is an attack that attempts to steal your money, or your identity, by getting you to reveal personal information -- such as credit card numbers, bank information, or passwords -- on websites that pretend to be legitimate.

1. Inadequate Training for Employees. The biggest cybersecurity threat to organizations comes from within them. According to a recent study by Stanford University, employee errors, whether intentional or accidental, are to blame for 88% of data breach occurrences.

Stolen credit card information: The most common cybercrime is when a person's credit card information is stolen and used unlawfully to acquire or purchase goods or services over the internet. Hacking into a government website: Another type of cybercrime is tampering with sensitive government data.

The biggest, most damaging and most widespread threat facing small businesses is phishing attacks. Phishing accounts for 90% of all breaches that organizations face, they've grown 65% over the last year, and they account for over $12 billion in business losses.

The products harvested from commercial whaling included oil, baleen, and ambergris.

Whaling is a highly targeted phishing attack - aimed at senior executives - masquerading as a legitimate email. Whaling is digitally enabled fraud through social engineering, designed to encourage victims to perform a secondary action, such as initiating a wire transfer of funds.

In the 1600s the American colonists hunted right whales off New England for their oil and baleen. The baleen was made into corsets, umbrella ribs, and buggy whips. The right whales were brought back to the shore for processing where the blubber was boiled for the precious oil.

During the Middle Ages and Renaissance, whaling gained popularity throughout Northern Europe. Whale oil and baleen (sometimes called whalebone, although it's not bone at all) were valuable commodities. Whale oil comes from the blubber of right and bowhead whales, and the head cavity of sperm whales.

WWF has serious concerns over the risks of whale meat from illegal whaling operations being laundered into any future legal trade. With some whale populations only beginning to recover, and others still on the brink of extinction, any intensification of commercial whaling could have serious consequences.

Is whale hunting illegal in the US? ›

In 1972, the United States Congress passed the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). The Act makes it illegal for any person residing in the United States to kill, hunt, injure or harass all species of marine mammals, regardless of their population status.

No. It is illegal for anyone, including Alaska Natives, to buy or sell bowhead whale or Cook Inlet beluga whale meat or muktuk.

Like other whaling nations, Japan argues hunting and eating whales are part of its culture. A number of coastal communities in Japan have indeed hunted whales for centuries but consumption only became widespread after World War Two when other food was scarce.

The Charles W. Morgan is the last of an American whaling fleet that numbered more than 2,700 vessels. Built and launched in 1841, the Morgan is now America's oldest commercial ship still afloat – only the USS Constitution is older.

Whaling as an industry began around the 11th Century when the Basques started hunting and trading the products from the northern right whale (now one of the most endangered of the great whales). They were followed first by the Dutch and the British, and later by the Americans, Norwegians and many other nations.