21-12-2012, 01:38 PM
PHISHING TECHNIQUES
PHISHING TECHNIQUES.doc (Size: 647 KB / Downloads: 31)
ABSTRACT
In the field of computer security, phishing is the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Phishing is a fraudulent e-mail that attempts to get you to divulge personal data that can then be used for illegitimate purposes.
There are many variations on this scheme. It is possible to Phish for other information in additions to usernames and passwords such as credit card numbers, bank account numbers, social security numbers and mothers’ maiden names. Phishing presents direct risks through the use of stolen credentials and indirect risk to institutions that conduct business on line through erosion of customer confidence. The damage caused by phishing ranges from denial of access to e-mail to substantial financial loss.
INTRODUCTION
In the field of computer security, Phishing is the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Phishing is a fraudulent e-mail that attempts to get you to divulge personal data that can then be used for illegitimate purposes.
There are many variations on this scheme. It is possible to Phish for other information in additions to usernames and passwords such as credit card numbers, bank account numbers, social security numbers and mothers’ maiden names. Phishing presents direct risks through the use of stolen credentials and indirect risk to institutions that conduct business on line through erosion of customer confidence. The damage caused by Phishing ranges from denial of access to e-mail to substantial financial loss.
This report also concerned with anti-Phishing techniques. There are several different techniques to combat Phishing, including legislation and technology created specifically to protect against Phishing. No single technology will completely stop Phishing. However a combination of good organization and practice, proper application of current technologies and improvements in security technology has the potential to drastically reduce the prevalence of Phishing and the losses suffered from it. Anti-Phishing software and computer programs are designed to prevent the occurrence of Phishing and trespassing on confidential information. Anti-Phishing software is designed to track websites and monitor activity; any suspicious behavior can be automatically reported and even reviewed as a report after a period of time.
PHISHING TECHNIQUES
Phishers use a wide variety of techniques, with one common thread.
LINK MANIPULATION
Most methods of Phishing use some form of technical deception designed to make a link in an e-mail appear to belong to the spoofed organization. Misspelled URLs or the use of sub domains are common tricks used by Phishers. In the following example, http://www.yourbank.example, it appears as though the URL will take you to the example section of the yourbank website; actually this URL points to the "yourbank" (i.e. Phishing) section of the example website.
An old method of spoofing used links containing the '@' symbol, originally intended as a way to include a username and password. For example, http://www.google.com[at]members.tripod might deceive a casual observer into believing that it will open a page on www.google.com, whereas it actually directs the browser to a page on members.tripod.com, using a username of www.google.com: the page opens normally, regardless of the username supplied.
FILTER EVASION
Phishers have used images instead of text to make it harder for anti-Phishing filters to detect text commonly used in Phishing e-mails.
WEBSITE FORGERY
Once a victim visits the Phishing website the deception is not over. Some Phishing scams use JavaScript commands in order to alter the address bar. This is done either by placing a picture of a legitimate URL over the address bar, or by closing the original address bar and opening a new one with the legitimate URL.
PHONE PHISHING
Messages that claimed to be from a bank told users to dial a phone number regarding problems with their bank accounts. Once the phone number (owned by the Phishers) was dialed, prompts told users to enter their account numbers and PIN. Vishing (voice Phishing) sometimes uses fake caller-ID data to give the appearance that calls come from a trusted organization.
PHISHING EXAMPLES
PAYPAL PHISHING
In an example PayPal phish, spelling mistakes in the e-mail and the presence of an IP address in the link are both clues that this is a Phishing attempt. Another giveaway is the lack of a personal greeting, although the presence of personal details would not be a guarantee of legitimacy. A legitimate Paypal communication will always greet the user with his or her real name, not just with a generic greeting like, "Dear Accountholder." Other signs that the message is a fraud are misspellings of simple words, bad grammar and the threat of consequences such as account suspension if the recipient fails to comply with the message's requests.
E-MAIL AND WEB PAGES CAN LOOK REAL
The use of symbols laden with familiarity and repute lends legitimacy (or the illusion of legitimacy) to information—whether accurate or fraudulent—that is placed on the imitating page. Deception is possible because the symbols that represent a trusted company are no more 'real' than the symbols that are reproduced for a fictitious company. Certain elements of dynamic web content can be difficult to copy directly but are often easy enough to fake, especially when 100% accuracy is not required. Email messages are usually easier to replicate than web pages since their elements are predominately text or static HTML and associated images. Hyperlinks are easily subverted since the visible tag does not have to match the URL that your click will actually redirect your browser to.
PHISHING TECHNIQUES.doc (Size: 647 KB / Downloads: 31)
ABSTRACT
In the field of computer security, phishing is the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Phishing is a fraudulent e-mail that attempts to get you to divulge personal data that can then be used for illegitimate purposes.
There are many variations on this scheme. It is possible to Phish for other information in additions to usernames and passwords such as credit card numbers, bank account numbers, social security numbers and mothers’ maiden names. Phishing presents direct risks through the use of stolen credentials and indirect risk to institutions that conduct business on line through erosion of customer confidence. The damage caused by phishing ranges from denial of access to e-mail to substantial financial loss.
INTRODUCTION
In the field of computer security, Phishing is the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Phishing is a fraudulent e-mail that attempts to get you to divulge personal data that can then be used for illegitimate purposes.
There are many variations on this scheme. It is possible to Phish for other information in additions to usernames and passwords such as credit card numbers, bank account numbers, social security numbers and mothers’ maiden names. Phishing presents direct risks through the use of stolen credentials and indirect risk to institutions that conduct business on line through erosion of customer confidence. The damage caused by Phishing ranges from denial of access to e-mail to substantial financial loss.
This report also concerned with anti-Phishing techniques. There are several different techniques to combat Phishing, including legislation and technology created specifically to protect against Phishing. No single technology will completely stop Phishing. However a combination of good organization and practice, proper application of current technologies and improvements in security technology has the potential to drastically reduce the prevalence of Phishing and the losses suffered from it. Anti-Phishing software and computer programs are designed to prevent the occurrence of Phishing and trespassing on confidential information. Anti-Phishing software is designed to track websites and monitor activity; any suspicious behavior can be automatically reported and even reviewed as a report after a period of time.
PHISHING TECHNIQUES
Phishers use a wide variety of techniques, with one common thread.
LINK MANIPULATION
Most methods of Phishing use some form of technical deception designed to make a link in an e-mail appear to belong to the spoofed organization. Misspelled URLs or the use of sub domains are common tricks used by Phishers. In the following example, http://www.yourbank.example, it appears as though the URL will take you to the example section of the yourbank website; actually this URL points to the "yourbank" (i.e. Phishing) section of the example website.
An old method of spoofing used links containing the '@' symbol, originally intended as a way to include a username and password. For example, http://www.google.com[at]members.tripod might deceive a casual observer into believing that it will open a page on www.google.com, whereas it actually directs the browser to a page on members.tripod.com, using a username of www.google.com: the page opens normally, regardless of the username supplied.
FILTER EVASION
Phishers have used images instead of text to make it harder for anti-Phishing filters to detect text commonly used in Phishing e-mails.
WEBSITE FORGERY
Once a victim visits the Phishing website the deception is not over. Some Phishing scams use JavaScript commands in order to alter the address bar. This is done either by placing a picture of a legitimate URL over the address bar, or by closing the original address bar and opening a new one with the legitimate URL.
PHONE PHISHING
Messages that claimed to be from a bank told users to dial a phone number regarding problems with their bank accounts. Once the phone number (owned by the Phishers) was dialed, prompts told users to enter their account numbers and PIN. Vishing (voice Phishing) sometimes uses fake caller-ID data to give the appearance that calls come from a trusted organization.
PHISHING EXAMPLES
PAYPAL PHISHING
In an example PayPal phish, spelling mistakes in the e-mail and the presence of an IP address in the link are both clues that this is a Phishing attempt. Another giveaway is the lack of a personal greeting, although the presence of personal details would not be a guarantee of legitimacy. A legitimate Paypal communication will always greet the user with his or her real name, not just with a generic greeting like, "Dear Accountholder." Other signs that the message is a fraud are misspellings of simple words, bad grammar and the threat of consequences such as account suspension if the recipient fails to comply with the message's requests.
E-MAIL AND WEB PAGES CAN LOOK REAL
The use of symbols laden with familiarity and repute lends legitimacy (or the illusion of legitimacy) to information—whether accurate or fraudulent—that is placed on the imitating page. Deception is possible because the symbols that represent a trusted company are no more 'real' than the symbols that are reproduced for a fictitious company. Certain elements of dynamic web content can be difficult to copy directly but are often easy enough to fake, especially when 100% accuracy is not required. Email messages are usually easier to replicate than web pages since their elements are predominately text or static HTML and associated images. Hyperlinks are easily subverted since the visible tag does not have to match the URL that your click will actually redirect your browser to.