Hackers to stick with phishing, expert claims

Posted by Steven Gaskill

Phishing attacks are likely to remain popular with hackers, as they have proved to be profitable, IT outsourcing users have heard.

Alan Phillips, chief executive of 7Safe, pointed out that cybercriminals would not continue to launch phishing attempts if they were not lucrative endeavours.

"For a criminal to be able to gain access to bank accounts from any location in the world via an internet connection is a particularly attractive option," he explained.

Mr Phillips also pointed out that early phishing attacks were identifiable due to poor grammar and spelling, but modern attacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated in order to get around the suspicions of victims.

The expert added that people can avoid becoming the victim of a phishing attempt by making sure they only provide their personal details to a legitimate source.

A recent report by Network Box found that 55.59 per cent of all malware distributed via email was part of a phishing scam.