Updated December 14, 2023
Introduction to Phishing
Phishing is the most popular social engineering intrusion and one of the most commonly used attack methods on the Internet. It’s an easy concept: create a legitimate fake website the target visits, then email them a security notification urging them to “click on the next link,” which takes them to another false website where they’ll be asked to log in.
How can you Protect your System from Phishing Attacks?
Ensure you’ve taken steps to limit phishing threats before using an anti-phishing solution. Standard protocols for authenticating email and preventing spam and email spoofing are given as follows. These are open-source and reasonably simple to implement. These protocols will not eliminate the threat of phishing, but they will make the defender’s life more difficult.
- DKIM (Domain Keys Identified Mail),
- DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication and, Reporting, and Conformance)
- SPF (Sender Policy Framework)
Built-in rules and policies aid phishing prevention in cloud email platforms such as Microsoft 365 and Google G Suite. They compare your messages to the billions of others they receive daily to detect malicious intent. On-premises email servers, such as Microsoft Exchange, have anti-malware features. Finally, both business users and customers require training. Phishing attempts may try to reach clients via social media or even SMS texts (smishing), which you have very little chance of stopping from a technological standpoint. Therefore, customer knowledge is critical protection against phishing attacks.
With these safeguards, the tools and services listed below will help you detect and stop phishing assaults even more effectively.
Different Phishing Tools with Features
Tools of phishing are given below:
1. King Phisher
Let’s begin with one of the more well-known open-source phishing operation tools. King Phisher is a free phishing operation tool developed in Python that can replicate real-world phishing attacks and assess and promote a system’s phishing awareness and cybersecurity. King Phisher lets you develop many phishing operations with various goals for simple phishing awareness of credential harvesting.
Features of King Phisher:
- Graphs of operation results
- SMS alerts on operation status
- Embedded images in emails
- Templates using the Jinja2
- SPF checks
- Optional 2-Factor Authentication
- Cloning of Web page
- Geolocation
2. Gophish
Gophish is an open-source phishing simulator built in Go that assists organizations in determining their susceptibility to phishing assaults by making the process of building, launching, and assessing the results of an organization more accessible.
Features of Gophish:
Gophish supports the development of email templates, recipient lists, landing pages, and sending profiles. This tool is straightforward to use, allowing for speedy execution; the goal of Gophish is for everyone to be able to use it. It’s free and provides Gophish releases with as-built binary and no dependencies.
- Easy and fast installation
- REST API
- Binaries provided for OS such as Windows, Linux, and Mac OSX
- Easy-to-use interface
- Real-time result reports
3. Phishing Frenzy
Phishing Frenzy is a Ruby on Rails phishing framework that helps penetration testers and security professionals create and manage email phishing operations. Phishing Frenzy makes the phishing process run more smoothly and efficiently by assisting in campaign management, generating precise campaign statistics, and credential harvesting (among many other things).
Features of Phishing Frenzy:
- Support for 2-Factor Authentication
- User-friendly GUI
- Credential harvesting
- Campaign Management
- Email Templating
- Landing Page Creation
- Credential Harvesting
- Automated Follow-up Emails
4. Social Engineering Toolkit – SET
SET is an open-source Python security tool that employs a variety of attack strategies helped for penetration testing. Phishing, web attack, spear phishing, generating a payload, mass mailer attacks, infectious media generators, and others are among the attacks mentioned.
Features of Social Engineering Toolkit – SET:
- Multi-platform support
- Website cloning
- Fast penetration testing platform
- Allows for the integration of third-party modules.
- Powershell attack vectors
- Faking phone numbers
5. WifiPhisher
Wifiphisher can connect to a neighboring WiFi network and take advantage of a man-in-the-middle attack. It can do so in a variety of ways, including the Evil Twin attack, which involves creating a fake wireless network to imitate a legal one; KARMA, where the software operates as a public network; and Known Beacons, in which Wifiphisher broadcasts ESSIDs that appear recognizable to users.
E.g., Suppose Wifiphisher obtains the MiTM (Man In The Middle) location using the Evil Twin attack. In that case, it will deauthenticate users from their access point, clone it, and fool them into joining the false one, which fortunately lacks a password. The user will subsequently be directed to a personalized phishing website.
Features of WifiPhisher:
- Multi-platform support
- User-friendly GUI
- Rogue Access Point (AP) Setup
- Captive Portal
- Credential Harvesting
- Phishing Templates
- Multiple Attack Scenarios
- Deauthentication Attack
- Built-in HTTP Server
6. DNStwist
DNStwist is a Python command-line software for detecting phishing, copyright infringements, domain squatting, URL hijacking, etc. It’s a simple software for domain administration and tracking if someone is impersonating your company or brand and causing damage to your reputation.
It accomplishes this by employing several approaches to generate permutations depending on the target domain name and then checking to see if any variations are in use. It also looks for any online pages utilized in phishing efforts or brand impersonation.
Features of DNStwist:
- Various domain fuzzing algorithms
- Rogue MX host detection
- Unicode domain names
- GeoIP location
- Multithreaded task distribution
7. Email Spoofing
Attackers can use tools to forge email headers and make the email appear as if it’s coming from a legitimate source, such as a reputable organization or a known individual.
Email Spoofing of Features:
- Manipulating Sender Information
- Display Name Deception
- Domain Spoofing
- Reply-To Address
- SPF and DKIM Bypass
- Trusted Sender Impersonation
- Sense of Urgency or Fear
8. URL Manipulation
Attackers may manipulate URLs by using techniques like URL shortening or obfuscation to make them appear legitimate. This can trick users into clicking on malicious links that lead to spoofed websites.
URL Manipulation of Features:
- Obfuscation
- Typosquatting
- Homograph Attacks
- Subdomain Spoofing
- Phishing Kits
- Hovering over Links
- URL Inspection
Recommended Articles
This is a guide to Phishing Tools. Here we discuss how to protect your system from phishing attacks and different phishing tools with features. You may also have a look at the following articles to learn more –
