TechnologyAugust 8, 2026

vishing

VISH-ing

Definition

A form of social engineering where attackers use voice calls, often posing as trusted authorities like an internal help desk, to manipulate individuals into revealing sensitive credentials or security codes.

Etymology

A portmanteau of 'voice' and 'phishing.' It emerged in the early 2000s as technology allowed attackers to move beyond email-based deception to more personal, interactive phone-based scams.

In the news

The article uses vishing to describe the specific technique used by threat actors to compromise three Levi's employees, emphasizing that this human-focused approach successfully bypassed traditional security defenses.

Levi's Data Breach: Three Phone Calls, No Exploit

Read the full article ↗

Pasquale Pillitteri

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