New Tool Launched by Digital Defense on War Against Phishing

The San Antonio Business Journal reports today that Digital Defense, a company that provides affordable security solutions that allow executives to assess their network security condition, manage their IT risk and meet compliance and regulatory needs, has added a new weapon in its arsenal to crack down on fraudulent Web sites that are set up to take on the same look and feel as actual sites, otherwise known as “Phishing”.

I recently wrote on the subject of Phishing in a story about Firfox adding a shield to its browser to protect users against phishing. I am glad to hear that this new weapon will be launched against this ever-growing problem. Phishing is one of the latest online scams that attempts to steal sensitive data such as user names, passwords and credit card details which typically combine spam e-mail and fraudulent Web pages that look like legitimate sites. “Change Your eBay Password Now Before Your Account is Terminated“, “Update Your PayPal Information”, and even one of the latest, “Chase Bank $20 Reward Survey” are only a few of the many phishing types of scams that have hit the scene as of late. I have been especially nailed with the Chase one today.

The Business Journal reports “through a partnership with Internet services company Netcraft Ltd., Digital Defense is marketing a new tool called Countermeasures designed to monitor the Internet for these type of look-alike sites and shut them down. Digital Defense will offer the service on a subscription basis.”

Bravo for them. I only hope it helps to put a dent in this most devious of Internet crimes. While I am savvy enough to know not to fall for these schemes, I can’t even begin to imagine how many people aren’t.