Phishing is a form of social engineering used to deceive users and exploit weaknesses in current computer and network security.  Phishing is the fraudulent attempt to obtain sensitive information for malicious reasons by disguising the true identity of the sender often posing as a trusted organization or person.  Phishing is typically carried out by email spoofing, but can also be used in other electronic communications such as instant messaging.  Phishing is the most common method for hackers to gain access to a network to launch malware, including ransomware and viruses, that can damage or destroy your data.  Over 90% of successful hacking attempts start with a phishing email.  These emails will either ask the recipient for sensitive information, like usernames and passwords, or credit card numbers, or personal information; or these emails will ask the recipient to click on a link, which would then take the recipient to a website that contains malware that will infect the recipient's computer and then possibly their network and other computers on the network.