What is phishing primarily aimed at achieving?

Phishing is mainly focused on deceiving individuals into divulging sensitive personal information, such as passwords, credit card numbers, or social security numbers. This technique typically involves fraudulent communications that appear to be from legitimate sources, like banks or popular websites, often delivered via email or websites designed to mimic real ones. By convincing users to input their private information, attackers can gain unauthorized access to accounts, conduct identity theft, or perpetrate financial fraud. Since the primary goal of phishing is to trick users into revealing this private information, the choice that highlights this objective is the correct one.

In contrast, other options such as raising awareness of security threats or preventing network intrusions address different aspects of cybersecurity but do not align with the core purpose of phishing activities. Additionally, while access to unauthorized hardware is a concern in cybersecurity, it is not the primary focus of phishing, which centers around manipulating user behavior to extract sensitive information.