Symantec reports sharp fall in phishing attacks

The drop in phishing attacks may be short lived

Overall volumes of phishing attacks fell 45 per cent in August, according to the latest figures from security firm Symantec.

The September 2009 State of Phishing Report (PDF) said that phishing attacks as a whole dropped 45 per cent, while the use of automated phishing toolkits fell 30 per cent.

Much of the drop in both categories was credited to the demise of an automated toolkit which was attacking social networking sites, but researchers suggested that the drop may be short lived.

"Although there is some decrease in phishing toolkit activity, it could be a short-term variation in strategies before we see a resurgence in the upcoming holiday season," read the report.

Symantec also found that English language attacks were up 11 per cent, and that the US remained the most popular site for hosting phishing sites and targeted brands. Banks are still the most popular target by a long margin.

Some 33 per cent of all phishing attacks were hosted in the US, and Dallas, Houston and Atlanta were among the top 10 cities for hosting attacks. London ranked seventh.

French was the most popular language for non-English phishing attacks, followed by Italian, Chinese and Spanish.