DIY Phishing Kit For Sale

January 12th, 2007: According to RSA, EMC’s new security division, phishing has reached the point where ‘kits’ to mimic legitimate websites and trap users are being sold and used by malicious individuals.

Announced by RSA’s Anti-Fraud Command Centre, the kit makes it easy for fraudsters to construct sophisticated phishing attacks.

After analysing a demo of the kit that was being offered to potential buyers, RSA analysts found that it enables a fraudulent URL to be created via a simple interface. This URL then communicates with the target website and mirrors it in real time. An email is sent, if a user clicks on it and punches their details into the seemingly legitimate website then the phisher immediately has a brand new stolen identity.

This “Universal Man-in-the-Middle Phishing Kit” can be easily configured for any target and unlike other attacks, this one can intercept any type of user information submitted to the site after an account login.

“It is obvious to all including fraudsters that utilizing such an attack vector, the weakest link is a static password. These are the accounts that will be targeted first. Not only can that information be utilised for fraudulent transactions; but also subsequent attacks on that particular site and also sites where the user uses the same password credential,” said Geoff Noble, RSA Banking and Finance Specialist. “While these types of attacks are still considered ‘next generation,’ we expect them to become more widespread over the course of the next 12-18 months.”

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