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Johannesburg - South Africa is the second most targeted country globally when it comes to phishing attacks, according to Drew van Vuuren, CEO of information security and privacy practice, 4Di Privaca.
"With the cost of phishing in South Africa amounting to approximately $320m in 2013 alone and with South Africa accounting for 5% of the total volume of all phishing attacks globally, it’s not a matter of if you or your company will be a target, but when, said Van Vuuren.
Phishing is a form of email deception where cyber-criminals attempt to obtain sensitive information or cause disruptions to an organisation’s business operations.
"Phishing can be defined as an act of sending an email to the user in order to steal his personal information such as bank account details and credit card information," warned Van Vuuren.
"The email falsely claims to be from an established organisation and makes the user surrender his private information. The information will then be used for identity theft."
Such emails may direct the user to click on a link to a website where they are told to update their personal information like passwords, credit card details or bank account number.
This type of bogus website is specifically designed for information theft.
Most common form of phishing
The most common form of phishing is, "spear phishing”, a more targeted version of phishing.
In these instances the email sent appears to be of significant interest to the targeted individual.
"Spear phishing often has a high success rate as it bypasses traditional security defences and exploits vulnerable software," said Van Vuuren.
"Most companies choose to downplay the inevitable threat that phishing attacks pose, despite the many publicised cases that have resulted in personal, corporate, financial and reputational damage."
The most effective defence against phishing attacks is prevention, according to Van Vuuren.
"To prevent, or at least reduce phishing attacks, businesses need to start a continual education program that implements security awareness amongst its staff," he said.
"With the cost of phishing in South Africa amounting to approximately $320m in 2013 alone and with South Africa accounting for 5% of the total volume of all phishing attacks globally, it’s not a matter of if you or your company will be a target, but when, said Van Vuuren.
Phishing is a form of email deception where cyber-criminals attempt to obtain sensitive information or cause disruptions to an organisation’s business operations.
"Phishing can be defined as an act of sending an email to the user in order to steal his personal information such as bank account details and credit card information," warned Van Vuuren.
"The email falsely claims to be from an established organisation and makes the user surrender his private information. The information will then be used for identity theft."
Such emails may direct the user to click on a link to a website where they are told to update their personal information like passwords, credit card details or bank account number.
This type of bogus website is specifically designed for information theft.
Most common form of phishing
The most common form of phishing is, "spear phishing”, a more targeted version of phishing.
In these instances the email sent appears to be of significant interest to the targeted individual.
"Spear phishing often has a high success rate as it bypasses traditional security defences and exploits vulnerable software," said Van Vuuren.
"Most companies choose to downplay the inevitable threat that phishing attacks pose, despite the many publicised cases that have resulted in personal, corporate, financial and reputational damage."
The most effective defence against phishing attacks is prevention, according to Van Vuuren.
"To prevent, or at least reduce phishing attacks, businesses need to start a continual education program that implements security awareness amongst its staff," he said.
