What differentiates spear phishing from regular phishing?

The distinguishing factor of spear phishing is its targeted and personalized approach. Spear phishing attacks are crafted to target specific individuals or organizations, often utilizing information gathered from social media or other publicly available sources. This allows attackers to create messages that appear more genuine and relevant to the victim, thereby increasing the likelihood of success.

In contrast to regular phishing, which typically sends the same generic message to numerous potential victims, spear phishing narrows its focus, making use of personal information, such as the victim's name, job title, and connections, to create a deceptive but convincing communication. This high level of personalization is what makes spear phishing particularly dangerous, as it can bypass standard cautionary measures that individuals might employ against less personalized phishing attempts.

The other options do not accurately capture the essence of spear phishing. For instance, spear phishing specifically targets individuals rather than a broad audience, it can occur on various platforms beyond just social media, and it actually poses greater risks to the victim due to its tailored nature and the personal data leveraged in the attack.