 "2012 Global Losses From Phishing Estimated At $1.5 Bn")
RSA, the Security Division of EMC, today announced the findings of its January 2013 Fraud Report, estimating the global losses from Phishing at $1.5 Billion in 2012. This is a 22 percent increase from 2011. The total number of phishing attacks in 2012 was 445,004 while in 2011 was 258,461. Total number of phishing attacks was 59 percent higher than 2011.
The overall trend in attack numbers showed a steady rise in volume throughout the year, reaching an all-time high in July with 59,406 attacks detected in a single month.
RSA Global Phishing Forecast 2013
Phishing via mobile
The most prominent market trends relevant to the mobile channel have to do with the growth in mobile device usage in personal and work life and pivotal role of mobile apps. RSA expects to see more phishing directed at smart phone users in 2013.
Phishing via Apps
Applications will become the center resource for smartphone users and the overall popularity of apps will become just as trendy with cybercriminals. According to Gartner, the number of app downloads will grow to over 185 billion by 2015. RSA anticipates cybercriminals will increasingly exploit mobile apps to target mobile users with phishing and other malicious content.
Phishing via Social Media
Data collected last year reveal that more than 50 percent of companies had Twitter, Facebook and Youtube accounts. With the world turning to a smaller and more ‘social’ village than ever, cyber criminals are by no means staying behind. RSA expects to see more phishing attacks targeted on social networking sites rather than through traditional spam mail.
Other highlights in the report are:
Phishing attacks decreased 29% in December with 29,581 attacks identified by RSA. To date, the RSA Anti-Fraud Command Center has shut down 770,773 phishing attacks in 187 countries
The U.S. and UK were targeted by the most phishing attacks in December with a combined 65% of total volume while India and Canada represented a combined 13% of phishing volume
The U.S. was once again the top hosting country for phishers, with 53% of attacks hosted followed by Germany, the UK and Brazil
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