Viruses and Trojan horses are renowned for stealing of passwords and have been a nuisance since the evolution of computers. These threats would attach themselves on the users PCs soon after opening an infected email attachment or visiting a malware infected website. However, with the implementation of increased security measures such as stronger authentication, cyber thieves have changed tactics and have now moved away from stealing passwords and user names. This new phenomenon known as phishing, manipulates computer users into revealing their personal information such as user names, passwords and bank details.

According to data released by Message Labs, the number of phishing attacks through emails increased rapidly compared to email related Trojan and virus infections. The reason for the low number of virus attacks is a result of viruses attacking specific targets rather than the past generalized outbreaks. Compared to virus and Trojan attacks, phishing has become a lucrative illegal business, where the culprits keep themselves updated with latest security measures in order to find ways of avoiding them. As online banks and merchants rolled out the two-factor authentication, the so called “man-in-the-middle” online attacks from phishing sites increased tremendously.

One of the mostly used forms of man-in-the-middle attack operates by hijacking the user’s online session. Online users are manipulated into entering personal bank codes and details while online. When such information has been entered, hackers stop the user’s connection and take charge of the session. There has been an increase in the number of phishing emails being sent, where most of the emails are personalized making it difficult to distinguish between real and fake emails. These phishing emails normally contain links that when clicked download an executable file and stores it on the user’s browser. The executable file waits until the user logs into the online bank account, and then sends the bank details its creators.

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Even as new levels of security are developed, phishing attacks are using new methods to avoid being identified. For instance, phishing sites are now evading anti-phishing software by using Flash content instead of HTML. In the past, viruses and Trojans were sent with an aim of infecting systems. Nowadays, cyber criminals who use phishing sites are driven mainly by money, which has led to the increase of phishing cases. In fact, data released by APWG showed significant increase in the number of phishing sites from 20,000 to 37,000 in just over one month. It was also reported that though many phishing emails are sent outside United States, most of the phishing sites are hosted in the country.