Rise In Online Fraud Activities
Tech & U, NST - 23 March 2006

ONLINE fraud activities are expected to remain a major threat to users and organisations this year. To make it worse, the threats will come in various new formats and techniques which will not be easy to contain, according to National ICT Security and Emergency Response Centre (Niser). Its director Lt Col Husin Jazri said based on Niser’s analysis and comparison for the last three consecutive years, fraud activities do not seem to be showing signs of slowing down. “In 2005, we received a total of 149 reports on fraud activities compared to 106 in 2004 and 28 in 2003,” he told Tech&U recently. According to Husin, about 80 per cent of the fraud cases reported were phishing activities, where e-mail users are duped into giving out personal information such as passwords and credit card, social security, and bank account numbers.

“The use of ‘spoofed’ e-mails and fraudulent Web sites designed by phishers to manipulate recipients into releasing their personal information had resulted in significant financial losses,” he said. Husin added that more new trends in phishing will emerge this year with more sophisticated techniques such as blended social engineering, technical subterfuge attack, automated systems based on “trojaning” schemes, session hijacking systems and Trojan-type phishing system. He said the free availability of tools and techniques on the Internet is one factor that has encouraged phishing activities.

“Apart from that, many network systems are not adequately secure, making them vulnerable to phishing activities. There is also generally poor awareness among Internet users on phishing threats that had made them become easy victims,” he explained. According to Husin, apart from online fraud, virus attacks are also expected to cause massive service disruptions this year, if proper measures are not taken to contain them. He said intrusion, mainly in the form of Web defacements and malicious codes will also create problems. “The threats will become more obvious with more new viruses and Internet worms released in the wireless environment in addition to the wired network. With the use of more sophisticated and blended techniques, there could be more destructive payload and widespread effect which will be difficult to contain,” he added. Husin said the readiness level of organisations in Malaysia to face these new online threats varies as it is based on the nature of their businesses. “Entities which offer their products and services on the Internet, and knowledge-based organisations in the regulated industries are expected to be better prepared than others,” he added.

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