User Security Awareness: Phishing Attacks and Email Spoofing

Name
Course
Instructor
Date
Email Spoofing
Phishing attacks have become very popular in contemporary society. Researchers suggest that the main reason why these attacks continue to rise is that they work (Krumay et al. 7). One of the most common types of cyber security attacks is email spoofing. Spoofing involves using some fake address or information to access a secure system. It is often said that a security system is as strong as its weakest link. Email spoofing attacks have been used to defraud business organizations and governments (Krumay et al. 9). These attacks do not require great effort and may be highly successful, especially because the sender appears to be familiar with the recipient. 
The following are what a user needs to know about email spoofing so that they can defend it. First, it is important to have a background of how spoofing works. While email service providers have continuously improved mail services, certain shortcomings make emails a lucrative avenue for cyber attackers. First, with simple scripts, the attacker can edit the headers of an email to what they like (Krumay et al. 20). Further, they can modify the send to address of an email so that the response goes to the hacker's address. Therefore, unknowingly, the end-user may be deceived that the email is coming from a user they know. Secondly, attackers use an email address that looks strikingly similar to the email of a trusted site. For instance, an attacker may use an account such as [email protected]. PayPal and other organizations would rarely use a Gmail account. They would have a business account instead. 
The following are some of the best practices for end-users to avoid being victims of email spoofing attacks. ...