Understanding Phishing and Social Engineering in Today's Digital World In our increasingly connected world, cybercriminals have perfected the art of manipulation. They don't need to break down digital walls when they can simply trick you into opening the door. This is the essence of phishing and social engineering attacks that exploit human psychology rather than technical vulnerabilities. As one study notes, phishing emails utilize social engineering tactics to infuse a sense of urgency or fear in users, prompting them to take immediate action without verifying the message's authenticity . What is Phishing? The Digital Bait and Switch Phishing is a cyberattack where fraudsters send deceptive communications that appear to come from legitimate sources. The goal is simple: deceive recipients into disclosing sensitive information such as passwords, credit card numbers, or personal details, or into clicking on malicious links or downloading malware . Think of it as digital fis...