Triangle Communications is warning its online customers to avoid a SPAM message that asks for verification of password and e-mail address, as reported by Liberty County Times on May 27, 2008.
The company also warns that the fraudulent e-mail pretends to arrive from support@mtintouch.net, which is actually a false address. Triangle, who discovered the spam messages in the 3rd week of May 2008, promptly blocked the IP address from where the fake e-mails were coming. Triangle is now engaged in determining the sender of the messages to stop further spam.
According to Triangle, such e-mails are called phishing e-mails dispatched to consumers to steal their personal information usually bank account number, password and other sensitive information. The e-mail transmits malware and displays a fake Website address. This fake URL directs the recipient to a malicious site of the phisher who steals the user's online banking password to withdraw money from his account.
Triangle is suggesting to its customers, who might be recipients of the fake e-mail sent after May 17, that they should report it to the office. Triangle also said that it would never ask its subscribers for private information over e-mail. The company said that it, however, does send an electronic newsletter every month and e-mail occasionally to inform about local events or any specific promotion.
Furthermore, the company warned that spam mails pose a real danger to the utility of electronic mail communication, which is widely gaining acceptance. As the total spam accelerates every year, with 80% of the total e-mail traffic, this is one problem that businesses, governments, and the common public must address fast.
Meanwhile, the struggle to curb spam is ongoing as spammers constantly find new ways to target their junk messages on audiences. The result is that legislation and technology is constantly developing to keep pace with these evolving challenges. In a similar news, Batelco, a Bahrain telecom company, issued a warning in the end week of May 2008 that the e-mail scammers sent out a fraudulent e-mail and tried to seek the company's customers to confirm their password and contact details.
Further info...The EU Agency for European Network and Information Security (ENISA) discussed on May 27, 2008 the most serious Internet security threats that trouble people while online.
According to reports published by Vnunet on May 27, 2008, the group released its General Report, cautioning Europe against a 'digital 9/11' and suggesting to reduce gaps in its approaches to national security. If this is not accomplished, the report warned, it could put the European economy to high danger.
According to ENISA, malicious e-mail users, who send phishing e-mails or spam, greatly threatens the economy. ENISA said that 30% of the global trade is currently digitally dependent. Meanwhile, in 2007, spam cost enterprises nearly 645 Billion Euros, double from the 2005 figure. But since only 6% of the total spam reached inboxes, it might be assumed that the issue is under control. Nevertheless, spam is expanding in volume, bandwidth and size and continued to be a costly affair, with 94% of it being out of sight, explained ENISA.
ENISA further said that CERTs (Computer Emergency Response Teams) are the principal components in fighting spam and other cyber attacks. According to its calculation, there are 6 Million compromised computers added to botnets that are under the control of organized criminals worldwide and used to distribute spam with the objective to commit Internet fraud. In 2005, there were only eight EU countries with CERTs, but now there are 14, with 10 more in the pipeline.
Remarking on the situation, ENISA's Executive Director Andrea Pirotti said that Europe needs to regard security threats with greater seriousness and to invest further resources in NIS. Therefore, ENISA suggests the EU member countries to enforce mandatory reporting on incidents of security breach, just like the US, reported Vnunet on May 27, 2008.
Another security specialist Ken Dunham, who is the Director of Global Response for iSight Partners, said that with the growing maturity of the Internet and people's dependence on computer related technology, users are increasingly becoming vulnerable to cyber attacks. NewsFactor published this on May 27, 2008.
Dunham added that a large section of Internet users lack both the knowledge of technology and related security.
Further info...Russell Shaw will be blogging daily about VoIP -- from the basics to more meaty information -- during his two weeks as Featured Expert on the Expert Answer Center (from May 8-19, 2006). Don't miss the conversation!
Kaspersky Lab, a leading developer of secure content management systems, announces the launch of the Stop Gpcode international initiative. The objective of the initiative is to factor (‘crack’) the RSA-1024 key used in Virus.Win32.Gpcode.ak – the latest version of the dangerous... Further info...
Unsolicited spam mails were being distributed in San Diego for weeks as a part of political campaign in the city. These e-mails represented the mayoral candidates of San Diego, candidates aspiring to be in the City Council, and others wanting to be city attorneys, as reported by VoiceOfSanDiego on May 27, 2008.
People receiving the spam reacted differently to the rather new electioneering technique because of little knowledge they have about the impact of spam. However, some recipients said that the inflow of the campaign spam took away their interest from the candidates who pushed the unwanted missives.
As campaigns for political purposes become more competitive and expensive, the Internet serves as a new promotional mean. Thus, candidates use e-mail as another means to influence the voters. By distributing uninvited mass e-mails, they try to engage the electorate with just a click of the button. In the San Diego campaign, the message to inform the voters was being first decided and then sent in bulk to a specific section of the city's population.
Meanwhile, it has been known that Political Data Inc., an organization that collects and furnishes information on California voters, purchases lists of people's e-mail IDs from companies that collect data privately. Those organizations, in turn, obtain the e-mail IDs like other data on people from commercial Websites and online registration forms.
Nevertheless, recipients of the current campaign spam appeared frustrated due to the deceptive and annoying nature used in the e-mail marketing. According to the recipients, the messages hampered productivity while some demanded to know the source from where the candidates obtained their e-mail IDs.
The San Diego e-mail users also expressed dissatisfaction at the manner of collecting their e-mail Ids, storing them as a database and finally using them for spamming. They argued that this way any person could put them in an undesirable situation by using their IDs to send malicious messages.
One of the recipients of the spam mail, Herbert Wohl, said that the message was misleading as it gave an impression that he of his own volunteered to take it in, as reported by VoiceOfSanDiego on May 27, 2008.
Further info...
