The article I have selected to write about caught my attention because of the word " Phishing". Being an avid fisherman I knew this term had to be related fishing or luring. As I found out in the article the Tech term Phishing refers to scams which try to trick consumers into disclosing highly confidential -- and valuable -- information such as credit card and bank account numbers, Social Security numbers, and other identity-related data.
Typically originating in mass-mailed e-mails that purport to be from a legitimate source, they entice users to spoofed sites with bogus claims that account numbers must be re-entered.
The statistics are amazing in the amount of attacks. According to Vincent Weafer Senior Director of Symantec Security Research, "attacks are climbing at a rate of about 50 percent per month so far this year." Symantec's research estimates that exposure to 9 to 10 attacks per hour with monthly totals exceeding 1200 attack for an unprotected system.
English: French bank account phishing attempt.
English: Chart I made for the Phishing article tha...
English: Symantec office in Baner, Pune.Finally, having the knowledge that phishing is occurring, and that responding to email that requires reentering sensitive personal data is a definite warning sign are key to not falling prey to this scam. Phishing is also much more sensitive to the consumer than a virus or worm attack because the phishers are taking their money. Luckily, with the motivation being money it is often times the case that the phishers will be caught, by following the money trail, but like everything that takes time!
References:
Phishers No tech Slouches. Retrieved on October 9, 2004 from the World
WideWeb: http://www.techweb.com/wire/security/50500169
Webopedia,Term:Phishing. Retrieved on October 15, 2004 from the World
WideWeb: http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/p/phishing.html
The Phishing Manual
English: Depicting phishing of information from a ...
Phishing dynamics