Which of the following best describes phishing?

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Multiple Choice

Which of the following best describes phishing?

Phishing is a form of social engineering that uses electronic communication to impersonate a legitimate organization or person you do business with, aiming to trick you into revealing sensitive information such as passwords, account numbers, or login details, or into clicking a link to a fraudulent site. The attacker relies on trust and urgency conveyed through emails, texts, or other messages, rather than technical hacking. That focus on pretending to be a trusted entity via electronic communication is what makes this description the best fit. The other ideas describe different techniques—data gathering from large datasets, approaching a target in person to gain access, or breaking into a system by exploiting unknown software—none of which capture the impersonation through electronic messages that defines phishing.

Phishing is a form of social engineering that uses electronic communication to impersonate a legitimate organization or person you do business with, aiming to trick you into revealing sensitive information such as passwords, account numbers, or login details, or into clicking a link to a fraudulent site. The attacker relies on trust and urgency conveyed through emails, texts, or other messages, rather than technical hacking. That focus on pretending to be a trusted entity via electronic communication is what makes this description the best fit. The other ideas describe different techniques—data gathering from large datasets, approaching a target in person to gain access, or breaking into a system by exploiting unknown software—none of which capture the impersonation through electronic messages that defines phishing.

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