Vishing (Voice Phishing)
What is Vishing (Voice Phishing)?
A social engineering attack conducted over the phone, where the caller impersonates a trusted entity — such as a bank, government agency, tech support, or a senior executive — to extract sensitive information or convince the target to take an action. AI-generated voice cloning has made vishing dramatically more convincing, allowing attackers to mimic a specific person's voice from just a few seconds of audio.
When cyber attacks become physical threats →
Why this matters for Canadian businesses
Understanding Vishing (Voice Phishing) is part of building a security programme that meets the 13 Baseline Cyber Security Controls published by the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (ITSM.10.089) — the Government of Canada's recommended minimum standard for small and medium organizations. You can measure your organization against all 13 controls with our free cybersecurity assessment.
For the wider picture on how Canadian small and medium businesses are performing, see The Cybersecurity Canada Report 2026, our annual benchmark of incident rates, breach costs, and regulation affecting Canadian organizations.
Cite This Page
Suggested citation:
Cybersecurity Canada (2026). Vishing (Voice Phishing). Retrieved from https://cybersecuritycanada.ca/glossary/vishing/
Permanent URL: https://cybersecuritycanada.ca/glossary/vishing/
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