New technology boosts web crime
16 August 2005
New web tools are making it easier for internet criminals to manage and control compromised home computers.
Software is being developed that means hackers can immediately react to what users are doing and re-direct them to fake websites, according to online security firm Websense. Web phishing scams redirect users to fake websites that then harvest people's personal and financial information.
The new Websense Security Lab alert warns that it has detected a new trojan attack that performs a phishing attack against users by modifying the host file on the infected machine and mapping the real address of a bank to the IP address of a phishing site.
Compromised machines are used by web scammers to create networks, described as 'botnets' and the new easy-to-use software reportedly makes it harder to spot if a PC has been taken over. Botnets can involve thousands of compromised Windows machines and new software enables botnet owners to issue commands to the machines they control by simply pointing and clicking, the BBC reports.
A report by Websense and the APWG predicts that there will be an upturn in phishing attacks, using more sophisticated methods such as keylogging, while pharming and crimeware will also see a dramatic increase.
The research found that 74 brands were hijacked by phishing campaigns in June 2005, with the United States hosting the most phishing websites. The average time online for a phishing site was 5.9 days and the longest time a site spent online was 30 days.
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