Phishing attacks up by a third

Phishing attacks rose by a third in November 2004 and the bogus websites involved are proving increasingly difficult to take down, according to research released by the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG).

The report found that 51 brands were attacked by phishers in November, usually banking and financial institutions. Over 1,500 phishing websites were discovered during the month, with the US being the preferred web hosting location.

Taking down bogus sites took nearly a week on average, but some sites remained up and functioning throughout the month.

"We have already seen indications that phishers are commanding automated distribution systems, apparently using botnets known as zombies," said David Jevans, chairman of the AWPG.

"These resources, combined with conventional key-logging and other innovative malicious code, are threatening to deliver more sophisticated attacks."

But phishing attacks are still relatively unsophisticated, according to the study. Two thirds of bogus sites did not mimic the URLs of the companies they were targeting, using a simple IP address instead.

See also:

Key-loggers the new phisherman's friend

Combination attacks becoming the norm as users wise up to the scam  06 May 2005

Security market set to flourish in 2005

But vendors must consolidate products to combat customer confusion  10 Jan 2005

Phishing, VoIP and spam top 2005 messaging agenda

Analysts spell out challenges for the messaging industry  05 Jan 2005

2004: the year of the phish

Phishing, spam and viruses at record levels  22 Dec 2004

Gone phishing

Phishing is becoming ever more prevalent and ever more dangerous  29 Nov 2004

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