4 O C TO B E R 2 0 2 5 In 2025, phishing attacks continue to be a major threat to businesses, with significant financial and operational impacts. Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are particularly vulnerable to these attacks. Phishing is a type of cybercrime where an attacker essentially poses as a legitimate entity. They send emails or forms to unsuspecting employees, hoping to lure these targets into providing confidential information. PHISHING IS RAMPANT Phishing emails remain the most common entry point for attacks. Over 90% of data breaches include an email-based tactic. These emails are carefully designed to trick employees into clicking links, downloading files, or sharing sensitive information. Unfortunately, all it takes is one click or one reply for your organization to be compromised. What does a phishing email look like? There are many variations, but here’s one example: An employee receives an email with an attached invoice for “consultant work” from Company B along with a W9 form for an “employee” of Company B. These attachments are to try and legitimize the phishing attempt. Further research on an attempt like this could reveal that Company B is a legitimate company but was spoofed for the purpose of this attack, and the email was fraudulent. OTHER EMPLOYEE-FOCUSED ATTACKS While phishing is widespread, employees are also targeted through other attack methods: • Smishing – Scammers use SMS (text) messages to trick individuals into revealing sensitive information or performing actions that can compromise their security. Smishing leverages the higher level of trust people often place in text messages compared to emails. • Vishing – Short for "voice phishing," vishing is a cybersecurity attack where scammers use phone calls to trick individuals into revealing sensitive information. They Phishing is only one of the many tactics cybercriminals use ARE YOU PROTECTED FROM EMPLOYEE-FOCUSED ATTACKS?
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