Phishing Attacks Set New rerecords During September-October 2008

A researcher at internet security company, Cyveillance, claims that in the past 60 days (September-October), phishing attacks have set new records in terms of frequency and volume, as reported by darkreading on November 17, 2008.

Cyveillance said that in the Q1 2008, it witnessed a daily average number of phishing attacks in the minimum 400 range. In October 2008, the average touched around 1,750 with the maximum figure soared to 13,209 per day.

Further, Cyveillance claims that during first six months of 2008, the amount and frequency of attacks multiplied steadily, with an average of 400-500 per day, with spikes occasionally touching almost 1,000 per day.

The summer of 2008 witnessed reduction in attacks, but there has been a significant increase in volume and frequency since September 2008. Security experts have commented that there are many reasons for rising number of attacks - the most notable one is the global financial crisis and the continuous attempts of hackers to surpass anti-virus programs.

CEO and Chairman of Cyveillancek, Panos Anastassiadis, said that because of the ongoing crisis in the financial market, hackers have increased the volume of phishing attacks like never before, as reported by darkreading on November 12, 2008.

Moreover, cyber-security is a burning issue of recent times. The strong growth in ICT networks has encouraged hackers to exploit online flaws and target critical infrastructure of countries.

Further, spam has evolved as a permanent threat challenging the capacity of web to transfer data fully, whereas phishing and malware attack computers worldwide. The online world of is at risk, threatening the existence of information market which is facing dangers from these rising cyber threats.

The Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) claims that during November 2008, crime ware circulating URLs that infect systems with password hacking code increased by 93% in the Q1 2008 and touched 6,500 websites, almost two times of November 2007, and an increase of 337% from the total number detected at the end of Q1 2007.

Related article: Phishing With A Redirector Code

» SPAMfighter News - 12/1/2008