What is phishing?

Phishing is a type of cybersecurity attack designed to deceive individuals into providing sensitive information, such as passwords, credit card numbers, or personal identification. This is typically done through seemingly legitimate communications, often via email or messages that appear to be from trusted sources, such as banks or reputable companies. The goal of phishing is to trick the target into clicking a malicious link or providing confidential information, which attackers can then use for fraudulent purposes.

The other options do not accurately describe phishing; troubleshooting networks pertains to identifying and fixing network issues, software development techniques involve creating software applications, and improving connection speed relates to internet performance enhancements. Each of these areas is distinct from the intent and mechanisms of phishing attacks, which specifically aim to exploit trust for information theft.