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Thursday, October 21, 2004 |
Security firm CipherTrust has reported that fewer than five zombie networks may be involved in all Internet phishing attacks worldwide, suggesting that only a small number of people are responsible for the threats. CipherTrust researchers found that less than 1 percent of e-mail messages are phishing attacks, but says these threats should be taken very seriously.
In its research, the firm analyzed customer e-mails during the first two weeks of October, and found that about a third of all zombie machines launching phishing attacks are based in the U.S., with South Korea coming in second at about 15 percent. However, the findings do not imply that the attacks originate within the U.S. Because zombie networks can be controlled from any geographic region, U.S. machines used in an attack can be manipulated by phishers in other countries. Most notably, the research indicated that attacks are sending out messages using networks of only about 1,000 PCs. This suggests that the number of perpetrators is small, but very adept at using compromised machines.
4:33:50 PM 
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An August intrusion into a social researcher's computer may mean that more than a million Californians need to call the credit bureaus.
On Tuesday, the California Department of Social Services warned the providers and recipients of the state's In Home Support Services (IHSS) that their names, addresses, telephone numbers, Social Security numbers and dates of birth may be circulating the Internet. IHSS allows individuals to get paid for providing in-home care to senior citizens. The warning comes after an unknown attacker slipped in through a security hole in a social researcher's unsecured computer at the University of California, Berkeley, on Aug. 1, perhaps making off with 1.4 million database records containing personal information. The researcher noticed the trespass on Aug. 30 and the university notified the state in mid-September.
3:58:21 PM
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Organized crime rings and petty thieves, federal authorities say — are establishing a multibillion-dollar underground economy in just a few years. The Internet's growth as an economic engine, particularly for financial transactions, is feeding the felonious frenzy. Lured by shoddy computer security and the ability to commit crimes from far-flung countries, the Russian mafia and other Eastern European gangs are plunging into spam, phishing schemes, cyberextortion and the trafficking of stolen goods online, authorities say. Many hire hackers in economically depressed countries, but a growing number are becoming computer savvy to do the dirty work themselves.
11:02:24 AM
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