Security Response

The earthquake and aftershocks which have struck New Zealand in the last few months are still being exploited by spammers and phishers in an attempt to feed upon the fears of Internet users. Symantec has recently observed continued phishing attacks against these users.

In this case, the phishers are asking users to check in with the bank and provide some additional information. The information will then most likely be used to access users’ banking accounts and personal information with the intent of stealing money and probably identities as well.

By the time Symantec went to analyze the data, this site had already been taken down. Although the volume of New Zealand specific attacks continues to dwindle as the events in Japan take center stage, we will continue to see such scams.

Internet users are advised to follow best practices to avoid phishing attacks:

•...

Over the month of February I decided to keep an eye on spam messages that were using the cult of the Academy Awards celebrity to peddle products. I tracked spam using the names of the actors nominated for best actor and actress in a leading role in the subject line.
 
The results were overwhelming! It seems that although an Oscar nomination can mean big bucks and recognition in the world of big budget films, studios, and pop culture, it doesn't carry so much weight in the world of spam finance.
 
Of the ten actors nominated, only three appeared in spam subject lines in February. Anne Hathaway received an honorable mention with one spam message. The rest of the spam went to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. The other seven actors received no spam counts and will have to be satisfied with not being chosen to help fatten the pockets of spammers. If the spammers could vote for the awards, it’s obvious that things would have turned out a whole lot...

After I posted a blog entry last week (1/28/2009) on Valentine’s Day spam subject lines, I thought it would be interesting to take a closer look at specific words related to Valentine’s Day that have been appearing in spam subject lines recently to see if there were any trends. I had previously noted an increase in the appearance of a few Valentine’s Day related words; “cupid,” “Feb 14,” and “February 14,” and I wanted to expand the search a bit. I was hoping to try and redeem the reputation of Valentine’s Day spam since my previous post put the spammer’s intentions in a less romantic light than the holiday warrants. I decided to search for traditional Valentine phrases such as the following: chocolate, cupid, Feb 14, February 14, flowers, heart, jewelry, Valentine, and Valentine...

After the shutdown of McColo, which was aiding the distribution of about half of all spam on the internet globally, spam volumes dropped. However, since mid-November, spam volumes have been slowly inching their way back up as old botnets are being brought back online and potential new botnets are being created.

At this point, spam volumes have slowly crept back up to 80 percent of their pre-McColo shutdown levels (when reviewing daily averages):

The types of spam being seen in new attacks are similar to what was being sent around the Internet prior to the shutdown. The spam messages can be categorized into the following groups:

• Replica watches
• Generic pharmacy
• Erectile dysfunction drugs
• Weight loss
• Software

The spam is...