In the context of IT security, what does 'phishing' refer to?

In the context of IT security, 'phishing' specifically refers to a fraudulent attempt to obtain sensitive information from individuals by disguising as a trustworthy entity in electronic communications. This often involves emails, messages, or websites that appear legitimate, tricking users into providing personal data such as passwords, credit card numbers, or other confidential information.

Phishing is a significant threat in the cybersecurity landscape due to its reliance on social engineering; attackers exploit human psychology to manipulate individuals into revealing sensitive information. By impersonating well-known brands or institutions, these attackers can mislead victims into believing they must take urgent action, such as verifying an account or addressing a security issue. This process highlights the need for robust awareness and training regarding cybersecurity practices.

The other options refer to different aspects of IT. Security protocols deal with the overall measures to protect data, encryption methods are techniques to secure data by transforming it into unreadable formats, and network segmentation refers to dividing a computer network into smaller parts for performance and security purposes. These concepts, while important in IT security, do not pertain to phishing specifically.