A joint US-Canadian top-level report on phishing has claimed that more cooperation will be needed in the future to combat the growing threat of cyberfraud, particularly as criminals develop new techniques and methods. Issues such as public education, prevention by technological means and law enforcement will be key, according to the “Report on Phishing” compiled for the US Attorney General and the Canadian Minister of Public Safety.
Phishing over the last year has become extremely prominent as a growing type of online crime, mostly linked to issues of card fraud and ID theft. According to the US-Canadian report, growth between May 2005 and 2006 has been of 34 percent, while recent research suggests that up to 5 percent of recipients respond to phishing emails. Other data from the UK shows that the problem may be even bigger, as APACS, the British association of payment clearing companies, has recently claimed that the problem has grown by nearly 1500 percent over the last year, rising from 312 to 5059 reported attacks.
However, the problem is not only in the numbers, but also in the impact phishing has on the economy and society as a whole. Apart from direct financial losses there is the issue of eroding public trust in the Internet: recent statistics suggest that many consumers are choosing not to shop or bank online fearing cybercrime. Additionally, given the trans-national nature of cybercrime itself, currently it is much more difficult to carry out criminal investigations and bring attackers to justice. In order to combat online fraud the report proposes better public education programs, as well as improved authentication technologies and updated legislation. And since cybercrime increasingly transcends borders and jurisdictions, its authors recommend placing a particular emphasis on cross-border co-operation and co-ordination. One example of a successful global campaign against phishers is the Microsoft-backed Global Phishing Enforcement Initiative, launched in March this year. In all, 129 phishing cases have been pursued so far, with sentences ranging from fines to jail terms.
