Symantec reports surge in phishing attacks

Phishing attacks rose 16 per cent in February

February saw a dramatic rise in phishing attacks and the use of current events to persuade unsuspecting web users to download malware, according to the latest monthly spam report from Symantec.

The State of Spam and Phishing report (PDF) highlighted a 16 per cent rise in phishing attacks compared to January, while malware writers increasingly looked to the news to lure victims.

Much of the increase in spam was from localised and non-English attacks, which were up 12 per cent. Among the most popular were Italian and French language phishing operations attempting to steal bank log-in details.

"The increase in Italian language phishing was attributed to a rise in attacks on three Italian banks," said the report. "Phishing on one Canadian financial institution and one French bank led to the rise in attacks in French. "

Meanwhile, spammers used the promise of video and information on the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, as well as the Toyota automobile recall, as lures to spread malware.

The US was once again the country of choice for sending spam and hosting attacks. Symantec found that US systems were responsible for 23 per cent of all spam messages, and hosted 48 per cent of phishing sites.

UK systems accounted for three per cent of all spam messages, a one per cent increase on last month and eighth highest among all nations.