What is spear phishing?
Spear phishing is a phishing attack aimed at a specific person or small group, written with details about them, such as their role, colleagues or current projects, so it looks genuine. It trades volume for precision.
How it works
Attackers research targets on LinkedIn, company websites and breach data, then reference a real vendor, a real meeting or a real manager. Generative AI makes this research and writing fast.
Finance, HR, IT help desks and executive assistants are frequent targets because they can move money, change payroll details or reset access.
Why it matters
Because a spear phishing message is tailored, it passes the “does this look normal?” test more often. People with high access and high exposure need simulations at a matching difficulty.
How Living Security helps
Living Security Phishing raises difficulty for the people attackers target most, on five levels grounded in the NIST Phish Scale.
