Spoofing vs. phishing: what’s the difference?

Spoofing and phishing are both cyber attacks that rely on deception to fool victims. Spoofing attacks create fake website URLs or email addresses that look like genuine versions. Phishing attacks impersonate legitimate actors and deceive targets.

Spoofing and phishing often operate together but are distinct techniques. Organizations must understand how these cyber threats work and implement preventative measures to secure sensitive information and network assets.

What is spoofing?

In cybersecurity, spoofing attacks make malicious content appear harmless and safe. Cybercriminals use spoofing to make phishing emails more believable or to redirect web users to attack websites.

Spoofing works because it exploits our need for trust. In everyday work and personal life, we trust web addresses and email senders. We lack the time (or the ability) to query every website we visit. Criminals know this. They understand that targets often fail to verify the links they click, creating a window to launch dangerous cyber attacks.

Types of spoofing attacks include:

• DNS spoofing. DNS spoofing mimics DNS servers that send traffic around the web. Attackers can spoof DNS servers to redirect traffic away from legitimate sites to malicious alternatives. These fake sites look real, but deliver malware or persuade visitors to enter sensitive information.
• Email spoofing. Attackers use email spoofing to make phishing emails more credible. Recipients see sender addresses that resemble trusted contacts such as colleagues or vendors. If criminals control these addresses, they can convince targets to take risky actions.
• IP address spoofing. IP addresses identify devices and users on the web. IP spoofing allows attackers to pose as harmless or trusted users to bypass firewalls and other security barriers.
• Caller ID spoofing. This spoofing attack technique is commonly used in vishing. Criminals create fake caller IDs. These IDs seem to place them close to targets when attackers could be located on a different continent.
• GPS spoofing. Attackers can spoof global positioning coordinates. This conceals their location, making it hard to detect the origins of attacks before it is too late.

What is phishing?

Phishing attacks seek to deceive targets. Criminals convince victims to provide valuable data or download malicious attachments. If they succeed, attackers can implant spyware and ransomware, leading to extremely damaging secondary cyber attacks.

Most phishing emails are part of mass mailing campaigns. However, security teams need to be aware of targeted messaging that leverages social engineering to trick victims.

Social engineering attacks leverage information about the target's company and private life to create personalized content. Criminals can access vast archives of stolen data via the Dark Web, allowing them to profile individuals. And AI tools are reducing the cost of personalized attacks.

Personalization increases the likelihood of click-throughs despite raising the cost of sending each phishing email. Stats suggest that spear phishing constitutes 0.1 percent of all phishing emails, but leads to 66 percent of successful data breaches.

Types of phishing attacks include:

• Email phishing. Email phishers send fake emails to victims. These emails ask recipients to take specific actions. For example, downloading attachments or clicking on identity verification links. When targets take action, attackers deliver malware payloads or harvest sensitive information.
• Spear phishing. Spear phishing is a form of targeted email phishing attack. In these phishing attacks, criminals write personalized emails based on the target's role, work history, and personal life.
• Whaling. Whaling attacks target high-ranking individuals like CEOs. Attackers research targets carefully, building profiles to write emails or call scripts. Whaling works well because executives generally have broad network access and privileges to make payments or issue instructions to junior employees.
• Vishing. Vishers use voice-based messaging to mount phishing attacks. Attackers make phone or Voice-over-IP calls, pretending to be legitimate contacts.
• Smishing. An SMS phishing attack uses malicious text messages to send links or request downloads. Victims may miss details like fake web addresses due to the limitations of smartphone displays, making smishing attacks highly effective.

The phishing attack methods listed above often work in combination. Attackers may start with phishing emails or social media messages before making voice calls. Organizations need a comprehensive approach involving anti-phishing training and email security tools.

What are the differences between spoofing and phishing?

It's important to note that phishing and spoofing are closely related. Threat actors often leverage both techniques during attacks. For instance, a spoofing attack conceals the attacker's identity, allowing them to send convincing phishing emails.

However, there are some important differences between spoofing and phishing.

Spoofing is not an attack on its own. Spoofers prepare the ground for other attack methods such as phishing, man-in-the-middle attacks, or ransomware delivery. They disrupt normal online identifiers such as email addresses and URLs and create situations where attackers can build credible identities to deceive their victims.

Phishing is a specific form of cyber attack that uses fake identities. Phishing attacks use convincing emails from trusted sources to fool victims. For example, criminals could pose as Amazon, Microsoft, or a regular SaaS vendor.

When targets fall for phishing attack techniques, criminals can deliver ransomware or extract sensitive data such as login credentials or credit card numbers.

One way to look at the differences is that spoofing creates phony identities, and phishing uses them. Phishing attacks rely on believable fake sender addresses and DNS redirects. But spoofing alone is not enough to deceive people. Attackers must create content that relates to the target and prompts them to take risky actions.

How can you prevent spoofing and phishing attacks?

Phishing and spoofing are connected but distinct techniques, with different prevention strategies. Measures to prevent spoofing attacks include:

• Systematically assessing links and attachments. Screen all business emails before taking any actions. Check links and sender addresses for signs of spoofing. Use malware scanning tools to check for malicious attachments and never download unsolicited attachments without a security assessment.
• Using VPNs. VPNs encrypt remote connections and assign anonymous IP addresses to users. This cuts the risk of falling victim to IP address spoofing attacks as you browse the web.
• Only visit secure websites. Spoofed websites usually lack the security certificates you'd expect from reputable companies. Look for a padlock symbol next to the address box and avoid websites without one.
• Inform victims of spoofing and phishing attacks. Spoofed companies or individuals probably don't know they are being exploited. Reporting spoofing attempts enables victims to take preventative actions.
• Secure DNS servers to prevent redirects. Regularly patch DNS servers and apply DNSSEC certification to prevent tampering.

To prevent phishing attacks companies must:

• Provide email security training. Training is critical to defeat phishers. Educate staff to identify suspicious emails. Phishing awareness training should focus on:

  • False links. Embedded links usually resemble genuine links, but contain subtle differences. Instruct employees to flag any links that deviate from normal formats, and verify links before proceeding.
  • Sender addresses. Legitimate companies have standard email address formats. Phishers generally use similar but not identical addresses. Subtle differences in domains and format often signify malicious content.
  • Tone. Phishing emails tend to adopt an urgent tone of voice, demanding immediate action. Trusted contacts rarely use this tone, which should be an immediate red flag.
  • Requests for sensitive information. Phishers often request private information without proper verification. Treat all data requests as suspicious until proven otherwise.
• Adopt strong password security. Employees should never provide login credentials to unknown contacts. They should change credentials regularly and use strong passwords. MFA should add an extra barrier to prevent network access if phishers succeed.
• Monitor data breaches. Social engineering attacks use information from previous data breaches to build target profiles. Use intelligence tools to scan the Dark Web for your data and implement security measures to prevent data breaches in the future.
• Minimize network privileges. Apply the principle of least privilege and only allow users access to resources related to business needs. De-escalate unnecessary administrative privileges. Pay particular attention to high-level officers who may fall victim to whaling attacks.

Robust network security requires policies to prevent spoofing and phishing attacks. Filtering emails, securing server hardware, and managing user privileges are all important. However, phishing prevention relies on regularly updated, comprehensive training.