Phishing is a type of social engineering attack in which an attacker attempts to trick individuals into divulging sensitive information, such as login credentials, credit card details, or other personal information, by posing as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication, such as an email, text message, or instant message. The goal of phishing is to deceive the victim into clicking on a malicious link or opening an infected attachment, thereby giving the attacker access to their information or computer system.
There are several types of phishing, including spear phishing, whaling phishing, smishing, and vishing.