What Phishers Know That You Don’t

Bottom Line: type the Web site domain name manually into your browser or use a bookmark. A healthy dose of paranoia is the best defense.

Today’s headlines scream about phishing attacks that are stealing financial data, bilking billions from consumers, and contributing to identity theft. These news articles are soon followed by vendor press releases and dubious marketing propaganda seeking to capitalize on the buzzword hysteria.

Security professionals are left trying to separate the truth from the hype while looking to SSL, token authentication, e-mail encryption, A/V scanners, blacklist and take-down services for solutions. Each incident usually gets management very excited about protecting their customers and the brand.

Meanwhile, while gleefully jumping from foot to foot, the Phishers are having the last laugh because they know something you don’t: None of this stuff actually works anyway. At least not for phishing scams. Don’t get me wrong. These solutions have their time and place, just not when it comes to phishing and I’m here to tell you why.