What is whaling?

Whaling targets high-value individuals: executives, board members, and senior leaders. The term plays on "**phishing**" while indicating bigger targets (whales vs fish). These attacks are highly researched and sophisticated.

Tactics include: impersonating board members or external authorities, referencing real events and relationships, requesting wire transfers or sensitive data, and creating scenarios requiring urgent executive action.

Whaling succeeds because: executives are busy and may not scrutinize carefully, their authority enables immediate action, and impersonating them has high value. Defense requires executive-specific training and verification procedures for sensitive requests.