Phishing vs. Spoofing: Understanding the Key Differences
Key Points:
- **Phishing:** A social engineering attack aiming to trick users into revealing sensitive information (credentials, financial data).
- **Spoofing:** An attack that disguises a malicious entity as a trustworthy one (e.g., fake email address, IP address).
- **Key Difference:** Phishing relies on deception *and* user interaction to steal data; spoofing primarily focuses on masking identity to gain unauthorized access or trust.
**Phishing vs. Spoofing: A Detailed Comparison**
| Feature | Phishing | Spoofing |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Goal | Steal sensitive information | Gain unauthorized access or trust |
| Method | Deceptive communication (emails, websites) | Masking identity (IP, email, domain) |
| User Interaction | Required (clicking links, entering data) | Often not required (e.g., DNS spoofing) |
| Examples | Fake login pages, fraudulent emails | DNS spoofing, IP spoofing, email spoofing |