● Cybersecurity Glossary
What is Phishing?
Phishing is a social engineering attack where criminals impersonate trusted entities to steal credentials, financial data, or install malware. The most reported cybercrime globally 3.4 billion phishing emails daily, 16% of all breaches. From email scams to AI-powered Spear Phishing, BEC, Vishing, and Smishing, phishing costs organizations $4.88 million per breach. This guide covers types, techniques, statistics, and how DNS filtering, web security, and NGFW stop attacks.
Definition and how Phishing works?
Phishing is a form of social engineering where attackers create deceptive communications emails, phone calls, texts, or fake websites that appear to come from a legitimate source to manipulate victims into clicking malicious links, opening infected attachments, entering credentials on fake pages, or transferring funds.
Unlike brute-force attacks that target systems directly, phishing exploits human trust. Over 60% of all breaches involve human actions (Verizon DBIR, 2025), and phishing is the entry point for most Ransomware, BEC, and credential theft campaigns.
Core mechanism: phishing targets the one element that cannot be patched human judgment. A single click on a convincing phishing link can bypass firewalls, encryption, and MFA. Technical protection (DNS filtering, web security) must complement awareness training.
Types of Phishing attacks
Modern evasion techniques
AI-generated content
AI creates perfect, personalized phishing in seconds. Campaign creation time: 16 hours → 5 minutes. By March 2025, AI agents were 24% more effective than human red teams. 86% of organizations reported AI phishing incidents.
Adversary-in-the-middle (AiTM)
Intercepts session cookies and MFA tokens in real time. Surged 146% in 2024. Renders traditional MFA insufficient as standalone defense.
Trusted domain abuse
96% of business phishing exploited SharePoint, Zoom, Google Docs. Bypasses reputation filters because the domain itself is legitimate.
Multi-channel and PhaaS
41% involve email + phone + SMS + QR. PhaaS kits grew 21%, enabling low-skilled attackers to run sophisticated campaigns.
Impact and statistics
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Daily phishing emails | 3.4 billion | AAG 2025 |
| #1 cybercrime | 193,407 complaints | FBI IC3 2024 |
| Breach cost | $4.88M average | IBM 2025 |
| BEC losses (U.S.) | $2.77 billion | FBI 2024 |
| AI phishing surge | +1,265% | SlashNext 2025 |
| AiTM bypass MFA | +146% | Microsoft 2024 |
| Bypass SPF/DKIM/DMARC | 89% | Keepnet 2025 |
The AI era: phishing emails surged 1,265% since generative AI. By 2025, AI agents were more effective than humans. Traditional email filters can’t keep pace. Organizations need multilayer defense at DNS, web, and network level not just the inbox.
DNS filtering and web protection
How DNS filtering stops phishing
When a user clicks a phishing link, the device sends a DNS request. DNS filtering intercepts the request and checks against a threat intelligence database. If phishing/malware/suspicious, the connection is blocked before any content loads. The attack is neutralized at the earliest point.
Why DNS filtering is critical
Works across all devices, all applications, all protocols not just email. Blocks links from SMS, QR codes, chat apps. No endpoint agents needed (BYOD, IoT, guests). Catches newly registered phishing domains before email blocklists.
Web filtering adds depth
URL-level inspection blocks specific phishing pages within allowed domains. Inspects page content for credential harvesting. DNS + web filtering = layered defense that catches what email security misses.
Multilayer Anti-Phishing defense
Teldat Anti-Phishing: be.Safe essentials and be.Safe Pro
be.Safe essentials: DNS protection
DNS-level security blocking phishing domains before connection. BrightCloud threat intelligence categorizing 90% of websites. 95% of common threats blocked. 84 categories in 10 families. CPE-agnostic, cloud SaaS or VM. Configurable via web or mobile in seconds. Ideal for SMBs and distributed organizations.
be.Safe Pro: NGFW with advanced anti-phishing
Deep inspection: 84 browsing categories, real-time phishing page blocking with ML and threat intelligence, IPS (15,000+ signatures), SSL inspection, 4,000+ application decoders. Embedded in SD-WAN routers with ZTP. No separate appliances.
Combined with XDR and ZTNA
be.Safe XDR detects credential theft and lateral movement after successful phishing. ZTNA limits what compromised accounts can reach. Complete anti-phishing fabric from DNS to application to network.
Two levels: be.Safe essentials for immediate DNS protection (95% block rate, no agents, all devices). be.Safe Pro for enterprise NGFW with IPS, SSL decryption, app control. Both on Teldat’s SD-WAN, single cloud console.
Frequently asked questions – FAQ’s
❯ What is phishing?
Social engineering attack impersonating trusted entities to steal credentials or install malware. 3.4 billion emails daily. 16% of all breaches.
❯ What are the main types?
Email, Spear Phishing (65% of successes), BEC ($2.77B), Vishing (+28%), Smishing (+22%), Whaling, Quishing (+25%).
❯ How does it bypass security?
AI content, AiTM (+146%), trusted domains (96%), multi-channel (41%), PhaaS (+21%). 89% bypass SPF/DKIM/DMARC.
❯ How much does it cost?
$4.88M average breach. BEC: $2.77B. 254 days to identify. Breaches after 200 days cost $1.2M more.
❯ How does DNS filtering help?
Blocks phishing at DNS level before browser connects. All devices, all apps. be.Safe essentials blocks 95% of threats with 84 categories.
❯ Phishing vs Spear Phishing?
Phishing: generic mass messages. Spear Phishing: targeted and personalized (name, role, context). 65% of successful attacks.
Protect your organization from Phishing
be.Safe essentials blocks phishing at DNS level. be.Safe Pro adds NGFW with IPS, SSL inspection, and web filtering. Both deploy in minutes on Teldat SD-WAN.
