Industry News Home More stories like this... RSS Feed

Biggest amount of phishing attacks directed at the UK

New research from identity protection and verification organisation RSA shows that global phishing attacks are increasingly becoming a major internet security issue.

Last year saw the number of phishing attacks worldwide register a 63 per cent growth compared to 2007 after a total of 135,426 separate incidents were registered.

Of these, the UK encountered 40 per cent, which is concerning for UK consumers as the US only registered 37 per cent. This was down to cyber crooks using UK banks to lure unwary consumers.

According to Sean Grady, the manager of product marketing at RSA, the UK attracted more attacks due to its faster payments system that makes it possible to transact in real time.

"The UK makes its financial institutions very attractive targets to the fraudsters, because you can transfer money before it can be traced and caught," he said.

Consumers wishing to minimise the risk of being exposed to phishing are advised to have good online security systems as well as good practices such as not responding to unsolicited emails.

PC Tools internet security, safeguards your PC against cyber threats with proactive defence. Visit www.pctools.com to upgrade your protection