New Target For Cybercriminals

India is among the top three countries targeted by phishing attacks by brands, according to a report released by RSA, The Security Division of EMC. The other countries witnessing the phishing attacks by brands was the US followed by UK.

The report highlights the latest cyber security threat to the global hospitality and airline industry which has now become an important target for fraudsters. According to the report, there is a vast amount of personal and financial data of customers stored online and cybercriminals have discovered unique and creative ways like fraudster travel agencies and many more to exploit the industry and its customers.

Other highlights in the report are:

• As of May 1, 2011, the RSA Anti-Fraud Command Center has shut down 410,279 online attacks in 184 countries
• U.S., UK, Germany and Canada hosted over 80 percent of all phishing attacks in April
• U.S., UK, and South Africa continue to be the countries that have endured the highest volume of phishing attacks – for 15 consecutive months.

The Anti-Fraud Command Center is a 24x7 war-room that detects, tracks, blocks and shuts down phishing, spamming and Trojan attacks perpetrated by online fraudsters. The Center has shut down more than 160,000 illicit web sites across 140 countries to date, protecting more than 320 organizations. Its fraud analysts shut down websites hosting online attacks, deploy countermeasures, and conduct extensive forensic work to help catch fraudsters and prevent future threats – significantly reducing the average lifetime of an online attack.