What is constituted as a phishing attack?

A phishing attack is characterized by fraudulent attempts to obtain sensitive information from individuals, typically through deceptive communication, such as emails or websites that appear legitimate. This method exploits human psychology, prompting users to divulge personal information such as passwords, credit card numbers, or social security numbers under the guise of a trustworthy entity.

While other options may relate to cyber threats, they do not specifically define phishing. For example, unauthorized access attempts relate more to hacking and intrusion, which are different from the deceptive practices inherent in phishing. Distributing malware concerns the use of malicious software to compromise systems, but it does not involve direct impersonation or deceit aimed at the user as in phishing. Similarly, networking attempts to gain user trust might involve building relationships but do not inherently include the deceitful nature or intent to gather sensitive information as seen in phishing. Thus, option B accurately represents the essence of phishing attacks by highlighting the deceitful acquisition of sensitive information.