Evolution of Phishing Attacks and the Billions it is Now Costing Corporations
Evolution of Phishing Attacks and the Billions it is Now Costing Corporations
AUTHOR: Terry Kurzynski, CISSP, CISA, PCI QSA, ISO 27001 AUDITOR
It was 23 years ago that the first Nigerian phishing attacks appeared in the inboxes of users across the world. Known today as the Nigerian 419 scams, these emails of deceit were cleverly crafted around the premise of a Nigerian Prince and his financial accounts which were being frozen. As a result, his family was seeking “your” help to get his fortune out of the country. All that was required was an advanced fee to cut through the red tape and get the ball rolling. The “advanced fee scam” scheme can actually be traced back to 1898 and the Spanish-American War. Known as the Spanish Prisoner Con, the ploy was based on the same proposition in which a Spanish prisoner was attempting to escape with his fortune and would share a nice percentage with anyone willing to help pay an advanced fee. (more…)