Which of the following is a data risk in PHHAD?

• A. Pharming
• B. Hacking
• C. Phishing
• D. Ad clicker

Answer: (C)

Phishing is a data risk because it relies on deceiving people to hand over sensitive information directly. Attackers pretend to be a trustworthy entity—via email, text, or messages—and prompt you to enter credentials, health data, or payment details on a fake site or form. That flow taps into data confidentiality and can lead to data breaches, identity theft, or unauthorized access to systems that hold PHHAD data. In PHHAD contexts, where personal health information and other sensitive data must be protected, phishing creates a clear path for data to be exposed or misused.

The other options describe different kinds of cyber threats: pharming uses technical redirection to steal data from victims without their noticing; hacking is a broad term for breaking into systems; ad clicker mainly aims to generate fraudulent ad revenue rather than directly stealing data. Phishing specifically targets data by exploiting human trust, making it the strongest data-risk among the choices. To reduce risk, stay vigilant for suspicious messages, verify sources before entering any information, and use layered security like multi-factor authentication.