Phishing is a highly targeted and deceitful practice of impersonation and email fraud. It’s one of the most common cybercrimes. Hackers use it to access private information, like credit cards and social security numbers.
Pharming is a similar practice. It is often used to redirect traffic from a real website to a fake one. The user is tricked into thinking they’re on a site they trust.
This article will explain Phishing vs Pharming and how to avoid both to ensure smooth email deliverability.
Phishing vs Pharming: An Overview
Phishing and pharming are two similar but different types of cybercrime.
Phishing sends fraudulent emails to steal personal information or install malware on a victim’s computer. Pharming, conversely, is a type of DNS hijacking that redirects users from legitimate to fake websites.
Phishing occurs when hackers send emails. The emails appear to be from reputable companies but are scams. They are designed to steal information from victims.
The scammer may pose as a company employee and ask people to wire money or provide a credit card number. Or, they may send an email with a link to a fake website. In that situation, someone asks the victim for their bank account number, PIN code, or other sensitive info.
In 2022, the U.S. saw 300,497 phishing victims with $52,089,159 in losses. Forbes Advisor used FBI data to analyze state-based phishing rates for 2023.
Pharming involves redirecting users from legitimate websites to fake websites through DNS hijacking.
Hackers use this technique. It’s hard for victims to tell real sites from phished ones until it’s too late. By then, they’d given up their personal information and possibly lost money.
Over 50 financial companies in the US, Europe, and APAC were victims of pharming attacks. In the past, someone attacked them after they shared personal information.
Pharming VS Phishing: Key Differences
Pharming and phishing are similar. But, they also have key differences.
These include:
| Aspects | Phishing | Pharming |
|---|---|---|
| Attack Method | Phishing involves sending deceptive communication, like emails or messages, to trick individuals into revealing sensitive data. | Pharming is a more advanced method that manipulates DNS records, redirecting users to fake websites without their knowledge. |
| Objective | Phishing seeks to gather personal information by exploiting trust, often leading users to fraudulent websites through deceptive links. | Pharming aims to divert user traffic to malicious sites, leveraging manipulated DNS settings to facilitate data theft. |
| Attack Category | Phishing is categorized as a social engineering attack, exploiting human psychology and trust to achieve its malicious goals. | Pharming is classified as a DNS spoofing attack, manipulating domain name resolution to redirect users to malicious websites. |
| Execution Process | In phishing attacks, cybercriminals use deceptive emails or messages to convince recipients to disclose sensitive information willingly. | Pharming involves tampering with DNS records or host files, altering the route of user traffic toward fake websites without their awareness. |
| Level of Complexity | Phishing attacks can be relatively simple to initiate and identify, often relying on users’ interaction with malicious content. | Pharming is more complex, requiring the manipulation of DNS infrastructure, making it harder to execute and detect by ordinary users. |
| Attack Technique | Phishing tactics involve crafting convincing emails with fraudulent links and convincing recipients to input confidential data on fake sites. | Pharming employs DNS cache poisoning or DNS server manipulation to reroute user requests, leading them to imposter websites. |
| Attack Medium | Phishing exploits email and messaging platforms, leveraging communication to deceive users and entice them to act. | Pharming manipulates local hosts, DNS servers, or websites to direct users to fraudulent destinations. |
Spoofing VS Phishing VS Pharming
Here’s a detailed difference between spoofing, phishing, and pharming:
| Aspect | Spoofing | Phishing | Pharming |
|---|---|---|---|
| Definition | Faking sender identity to deceive recipients | Luring victims to disclose sensitive info | Redirecting users to fake websites |
| Attack Type | Deceptive manipulation of sender information | Social engineering to steal data | DNS manipulation to redirect traffic |
| Objective | Mislead recipient about message source | Acquire confidential data | Divert users to malicious websites |
| Attack Vector | Email headers, IP, or website spoofing | Emails, messages, or deceptive websites | Manipulated DNS or host file entries |
| Countermeasures | SPF, DKIM, DMARC, email validation | User education, spam filters, security | DNS monitoring, website security measures |
| User Awareness | Users may believe in the sender’s identity | Users may unknowingly disclose info | Users may be redirected to a malicious site |
| Examples | An email claiming to be from a bank but not | An email with a fake login link to steal info | The user redirected to a counterfeit website |
Shielding Against Phishing and Pharming Threats: Prevention and Mitigation Strategies
Email is still important for business. So, protecting against these attacks is vital. But, it’s challenging because phishing and pharming are constantly evolving tactics.
Here are some strategies for protecting your organization from phishing and pharming threats:
Use DMARC, SPF, and DKIM Fortification
DMARC adds an authentication header to emails. Receivers use it to spot real messages from the sender’s domain.
Deploy SPF across all of your organization’s operational and non-operational domains. This can prevent domain name spoofing if hackers impersonate one of your email addresses.
DKIM is an authentication protocol. It allows you to verify if an email was sent by someone authorized by a domain’s owner. It shows if the email was altered in transit.
BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) Implementation
Another way to strengthen email security is through BIMI. BIMI uses a brand’s registered trademarks in the message header to authenticate such as the brand logo.
This helps recipients spot real messages. It helps them tell real ones from fake ones before they open them or click on links.
Ensuring Secure Transmission with HSTS (HTTP Strict Transport Security)
One way to help protect against phishing and pharming attacks is through HSTS (HTTP Strict Transport Security). HSTS helps stop man-in-the-middle attacks. It does this by making sure that web browsers only connect to sites using HTTPS.
This makes sure that communication between a browser and server is encrypted. It stops attackers from eavesdropping on sensitive data.
Certificate Transparency
Certificate Transparency is a mechanism that aims to improve the security of TLS/SSL certificates. Certificate Authorities (CAs) must log issued certificates publicly. They must make them available in a public log that anyone can inspect.
This transparency helps detect unauthorized or malicious certificates for a domain. It can prevent phishing attacks and other security problems.
Secure Email Content with a Web Content Policy
To prevent pharming attacks, ensure your email has no bad links or attachments. These could download malware onto your devices.
A web content policy can help ensure this by blocking email attachments and URLs from external websites. You can also use an email verification tool to cut the bounce rate.
Analyze Email Headers for Enhanced Detection
When analyzing email headers, look for anomalies. These include odd IPs or domains. They send messages for your organization.
These could state phishing or pharming attempts. Attackers try to impersonate real users within your organization.
Related Read: How to read Email Headers?
Adopt Multi-layered Authentication for Protection
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is a must for protecting sensitive information from hackers. MFA involves many methods to verify your identity before granting access to a resource.
For example, logging in to your bank account online may need entering a password and providing your fingerprint. This ensures that only authorized users can access the protected resource.
Install Zero Trust for Strengthened Security
Zero trust security is an approach. It treats all devices as untrusted. They must prove themselves through identity verification and authorization set up by IT admins.
Zero trust security forces users to prove their identity. They must do this before they access any network resources or applications. This rule applies even if they are on internal networks or inside the firewall (i.e., trusted zones).
Use a Cloud Email Security Solution
One good way to enhance phishing attack protection is to use a cloud email security service. A reliable service should offer advanced filtering. It should also offer real-time threat intelligence. This detects and blocks phishing emails before they reach users’ inboxes.
It should also use powerful algorithms and machine learning. They will find suspicious email patterns, bad attachments, and tricky links. These are common in phishing attacks.
Final Words
A lot of people need clarification on Phishing vs pharming due to the similar modus operandi of both of these attack tactics. Phishing is designed to fool you into giving someone else personal information like your login name and password. Pharming takes you to another site that looks real but was created to steal your credentials.
Both techniques aim to exploit unsuspecting users. But, their methods and consequences are very different. An awareness-first approach is key to defending oneself. By staying informed and adopting proactive measures such as robust digital hygiene practices, up-to-date security software, and vigilant user behavior, individuals and organizations can fortify their defenses against these digital threats.
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