Phishing

The Federal Trade Commission recently hosted a Spam Summit that focused on the next generation of threats and solutions.   The workshop brought together experts from the business, government, and technology sectors, consumer advocates, and academics to explore consumer protection issues surrounding spam, phishing, and malware. 

“This new generation of malicious spam goes beyond mere annoyance – it can result in significant harm to consumers and undermine the stability of the Internet and email in particular,” remarked FTC Chair Deborah Platt Majoras in her opening comments.  “Botnets – networks of hijacked personal computers that spammers use to conceal their identities – have become the preferred method for sending spam,” she observed.  She continued, “Even more troubling, spam reaching consumers’ inboxes is more often being used to launch phishing attacks and to deliver malicious code or ‘malware’ to consumers’ computers.” 

Winning the Battle against Cyber Criminals

Dan Larkin Unit Chief, Internet Crime Complaint Center , Federal Bureau of Investigation