Phishing scheme aimed at educating users

A number of New York state employees and a number of cadets at West Point were targetted in a recent phishing scheme. This one was perpetrated by the good guys though to wake them up to how realistic a phishing attempt could look. The employees that bit were "given a gentle slap on the wrist".

They talk about a new phishing tactic (spear phishing) that tends to target a specific company appearing to be an official communication from the IT department, or human resources.

The West Point exercise appeared to be an email from a superior officer explaining there had been a problem with grades and ordering them to click a link to verify their grades. Most of the 500 did so.

The full story is over at The Wall Street Journal