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Cisco Report Highlights VoIP Abuse and Financial Risks from Vhishing

In its recent annual security report, Cisco predicted VOIP abuse as a potential area for cyber crime growth. "Criminals use brute-force techniques to hack private branch exchange (PBX) systems to place fraudulent, long-distance calls; usually international," the report states. "These incidents, often targeting small or midsize businesses, have resulted in significant financial losses for some companies." . One of the most popular scams employed by VOIP-abusing criminals are vhishing schemes, which are telephone-based phishing ploys. The report points to one recent vhishing scam targeting the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Vhishers called U.S. consumers on mobile and land-line phones to inform them they were delinquent in loan payments that had been applied for over the Internet or made through a payday lender. Criminals were able to collect personal information, such as Social Security numbers from victims, according to the report. "What we've seen in the last couple of years is growing VOIP abuse around getting access to someone else system with baseline security hacks and then either using it for criminal purposes or selling it to other folks as long distance," said Patrick Peterson, Cisco fellow and chief security researcher."Some people have made money that way and some victims received huge telcom bills." The link for this article located at CSO Online is no longer available. . Phishing attacks against individuals are escalating within VoIP exploitation. Recent findings from Cisco indicate considerable financial damage for enterprises.. VoIP Crime Trends,Vhishing Scam Prevention,Financial Loss Strategies. . Alex

Mar 09, 2011 • Alex Network Security