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Johannesburg - IT security company Symantec is expecting a rise in cyber crime during the 2010 Fifa World Cup, saying this will not necessarily take place in South Africa, but that the tournament will be used to lure victims globally.
"We saw a 60% increase in activities like phishing, web-based attacks and other cyber crime during the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the Fifa World Cup is a considerably larger event," said Grant Brown, a security specialist at Symantec.
"There will be at least one billion soccer fans actively following the event, which presents an opportunity for cyber-criminals."
Brown said spammers and cyber-criminals capture attention and lure victims with emails that appear to relate to topical news.
In its monthly Spam and Phishing report for March 2010, Symantec warned hackers and spammers are also using disasters, such as the recent earthquake in Chili, in online attacks.
The company said that phishing attacks, through which criminals attempt to capture internet banking and other service login details, increased 16% in March over the previous month.
"Scam and phishing messages in February accounted for 19% of all spam," it said. "Spammers continued to use the earthquake in Haiti, and the recent earthquake in Chile, as another vector to utilise. They also used other current high-profile events, such as recent auto recalls, to deliver spam messages."
These are the kinds of attacks Brown expect to spike during the World Cup.
Symantec has launched a special website for the World Cup, where it will keep internet users up to date with related attacks.
In its monthly report, Symantec cautioned PC users once again to avoid clicking on suspicious links in email or instant messages.
"Never fill out forms in messages that ask for personal or financial information or passwords," it said. "A reputable charitable organisation is unlikely to ask for your personal details via email.
"When in doubt, contact the organisation in question through an independent, trusted mechanism, such as a verified telephone number, or a known internet address that you type into a new browser window. Do not click or cut and paste from a link in the message."
- Fin24.com
