--- title: Ransomware Security | Level the Playing field description: Video 1 of Protelligent's Ransomware & Phishing Security Knowledge Series provides definitions for Ransomware and Phishing so you know what to look for. image: https://protelligent.net/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Ransomeware-Part1-Protelligent-BLG.jpg --- # Ransomware & Phishing Security Knowledge Series Part 1 March 17, 2017 1 min read By: Christopher George Share this post ![asset](https://protelligent.net/hubfs/Website%20assets%20-%202024/banner%20tier2.svg) ![Ransomware & Phishing Security Knowledge Series Part 1](https://protelligent.net/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Ransomeware-Part1-Protelligent-BLG.jpg?width=1030&height=534&name=Ransomeware-Part1-Protelligent-BLG.jpg) **Protelligent®:** Ransomware, phishing and whaling definitions Don’t be a victim of ransomware! As the fastest growing cybersecurity threat to businesses, Protelligent Principal Engineer, Fred Groehler, helps you protect yourself by explaining the differences between malicious software such as ransomware, whaling and phishing attacks. Ransomware is malicious software used by attackers to deny access to systems or data, and in most cases, requires a monetary payment or ransom to regain access to affected systems and data. Phishing, on the other hand, is when attackers masquerade as someone else in an attempt to gain information that you wouldn’t normally share. Whaling, a form of phishing, is an attack that focuses on a specific, high-value target within an organization. For example, a staff member in accounting receives an email from an attacker that appears to be from the CEO asking for a large amount of money to be wired to a third party. [Click here](https://protelligent.net/protelligent-videos/ransomware-phishing-security-knowledge-series-part-2) to view part 2, where we discuss how Ransomware is distributed and provide some real-world examples of phishing attacks. 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[ See All ](https://protelligent.net/blog) [![](https://protelligent.net/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Ransomeware-Part3-Protelligent-BLG.jpg?width=352&name=Ransomeware-Part3-Protelligent-BLG.jpg) ](https://protelligent.net/blog/ransomware-phishing-security-knowledge-series-part-3) [Managed IT](https://protelligent.net/blog/tag/managed-it) #### Ransomware & Phishing Security Knowledge Series Part 3 Protelligent®: How to protect yourself against ransomware Fight back! It costs nearly $1 million to resolve an average... 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[ Learn More ](https://protelligent.net/blog/the-rising-threat-of-ransomware) ![decor](https://protelligent.net/hubfs/Website%20assets%20-%202024/decor-footer.png) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Christopher George", "url" : "https://protelligent.net/blog/author/christopher-george" }, "dateModified" : "2023-12-27T21:00:15.644Z", "datePublished" : "2017-03-17T00:26:34.000Z", "headline" : "Ransomware Security | Level the Playing field", "image" : [ "https://protelligent.net/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Ransomeware-Part1-Protelligent-BLG.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://protelligent.net/blog/index.php/protelligent-videos/ransomware-phishing-security-knowledge-series-part-1", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://protelligent.net/hubfs/Logo%20-%20Color%20-%20Digital%20-%20Hubspot.png" }, "name" : "Protelligent, Inc." } } ```