Get the word out; Symantec is warning of a plethora of spam attacks as
the 2010 World Cup approaches that begin as early as today and last to
the eclipse of the final match. The spammer’s goal is the same as
always, compromise legitimate websites in order to gain sensitive
information. During the previous World Cup, related phishing attacks
jumped by 40%. Up to 4,615 phishing hosts per month were discovered in
2008, 66% over the previous year.
Why is the threat so immediate to
South Africa? Well since their introducing pervasive broadband services
to the country as a whole, it is an untapped market for spam. Countries
like Brazil, Turkey, and Poland have faced this very issue in the past,
and South Africa is likely to follow.
Information security specialists
warn to gear up for three basic types of information attack:
availability, integrity, and confidentiality. In terms of availability,
sites could be compromised through denial-of-service attacks preventing
access to legitimate websites and a potential loss of business. As for
integrity and confidentiality, organizations need to be watchful of
their client’s personal information as spammers will try to gain access
to this valuable information. Providers need to make sure their page is
clean, but users need to also take part and be aware as they visit the
pages.
This is not a new discovery, but we should be aware as the event
approaches especially if you are fortunate to be in attendance. We take
a lot of our online security for granted since our systems are for the
most part pretty comprehensive. However just the simple act of clicking
on the wrong link could lead to a potential ID theft catastrophe.
Continue to be safe and wary in your online interactions and things
should run smoothly.
~Sam@bluesombrero.com
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