Crooks using 'hacked firms to phish'

Wednesday, 9 Apr 2008. Categories: Australia

Because so many people are now wise to the security threat posed by unsolicited emails, hackers are breaking into company websites in order to send their attacks from trusted sources, it has been claimed.

Jon Espenschied, writing for Australian news resource Computerworld, noted that a number of recent security breaches large firms suffered resulted in their employees being targeted by "frighteningly plausible" emails.

Armed with their stolen information, crooks could request an employee resubmit their banking information as it was lost in a computing upgrade, he continued.

"There's little in a message like that to tip off potential victims, even if the phishing attempt is more aggressive - say, a request to donate to a corporate-sponsored charity by providing credit card data," Mr Espenschied added.

The Australian government's Institute of Criminology notes that the internet allows cybercrooks to communicate secretly, manipulate electronic payments and target potential victims on a global scale.

PC Tools, Experts in Internet Security and trusted by millions worldwide! Visit www.pctools.com to upgrade your protection.

Protection Products

Performance Products

Crooks using 'hacked firms to phish'

Related News