An internet-based organization whose address is not known has attempted to acquire personal identification details such as usernames and passwords by creating a fake website. This is an example of?
Creating a fake website to trick individuals into entering usernames and passwords is a classic example of phishing. Phishing is a social engineering technique where an attacker impersonates a trusted entity to deceive a victim into disclosing sensitive information (credentials, personal data, payment details) or taking an action that benefits the attacker (downloading malware, approving an MFA prompt, wiring funds). A counterfeit login page is commonly used in credential-harvesting campaigns: the victim believes they are authenticating to a legitimate service, but the credentials are captured by the attacker and later used for account takeover. This is not necessarily a breach yet because the question describes an attempt to acquire credentials; a breach would be confirmed unauthorized access or disclosure. While phishing is a kind of threat, “threat” is too broad compared to the specific described behavior. It is also not ransomware, which focuses on encrypting or locking data and demanding payment. Cybersecurity documentation emphasizes layered defenses against phishing: user awareness training, email and web filtering, domain and certificate validation, anti-spoofing controls, strong authentication (especially MFA resistant to prompt fatigue), password managers that reduce credential entry on lookalike domains, and monitoring for suspicious logins. Because the attack relies on deception through a fake website to steal credentials, the best match is phishing.
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