Monday, March 07, 2005
Phishers Chip Away at Web Security
Nearly 13,000 new phishing e-mails and more than 2,500 phishing Web sites were spotted last month, the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) has reported.
Phishing uses e-mails designed to lure Internet users to counterfeit Web sites which attempt to trick them into divulging personal financial data such as credit card numbers.
47 Percent More Sites: By hijacking the trusted brands of well known banks and online retailers, phishers are able to convince up to 5 percent of surfers to respond and leave themselves open to identity theft and financial loss, the APWG warned.
Some 2,560 unique phishing sites were reported in January, a jump of 47 percent over December (1,740) and more than double the number reported in October (1,186).
There were 12,845 unique phishing e-mail messages reported, representing a "substantial increase" of 42 percent over December's figure.
Around 140 different brands have been hijacked since November 2003. The average phishing site will stay online for just 5.8 days, with the most long-lived lasting for 31 days.
The most targeted industry sector continues to be financial services, the APWG said, accounting for 80 percent of all hijacked brands in January.
US on Top: The U.S. continues to be the top location for hosting phishing sites, at 32 percent. Other top countries include China (13 percent) and Korea (10 percent).
The APWG said that malicious Web sites are also attempting to install password-stealing keyloggers, using several browser vulnerabilities to install and run code on PCs that access a Web site.
Brought to you by the Guardian eCommerce Safe Site And Privacy Seal Program, and ET.
Phishing uses e-mails designed to lure Internet users to counterfeit Web sites which attempt to trick them into divulging personal financial data such as credit card numbers.
47 Percent More Sites: By hijacking the trusted brands of well known banks and online retailers, phishers are able to convince up to 5 percent of surfers to respond and leave themselves open to identity theft and financial loss, the APWG warned.
Some 2,560 unique phishing sites were reported in January, a jump of 47 percent over December (1,740) and more than double the number reported in October (1,186).
There were 12,845 unique phishing e-mail messages reported, representing a "substantial increase" of 42 percent over December's figure.
Around 140 different brands have been hijacked since November 2003. The average phishing site will stay online for just 5.8 days, with the most long-lived lasting for 31 days.
The most targeted industry sector continues to be financial services, the APWG said, accounting for 80 percent of all hijacked brands in January.
US on Top: The U.S. continues to be the top location for hosting phishing sites, at 32 percent. Other top countries include China (13 percent) and Korea (10 percent).
The APWG said that malicious Web sites are also attempting to install password-stealing keyloggers, using several browser vulnerabilities to install and run code on PCs that access a Web site.
Brought to you by the Guardian eCommerce Safe Site And Privacy Seal Program, and ET.
