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Security Operations · Foundational

Whaling

Spear phishing aimed at senior executives or other high-value individuals.

Definition

Whaling messages target CEOs, CFOs and board members, often mimicking legal, regulatory or board communications. Successful attacks can authorize large payments or expose highly privileged accounts. Executive-specific awareness training and payment verification controls mitigate it.

Example

A fake subpoena email sent to a CEO with a link to "view the court documents".

Exam tip

Whaling = executive target; do not confuse with BEC, where the attacker impersonates the executive.

Don't confuse it with

Related terms