Sophisticated nation-state groups now integrate phishing as a core component of their statecraft.
Thanks to the traditional role of phishing in widespread email scams, there is a general tendency to equate it with clearly fraudulent and obnoxiously implausible emails. While this misperception has not evolved, phishing campaigns have.
Once a threat that went hand-in-hand with spam email, phishing is now increasingly integrated into highly tactical, customized campaigns deployed to penetrate nation-state defenses.