Article Seven

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/02/25/cashmore.twitter.phishing/index.html

This article delves into the ever present struggle to limit phishing attacks on the internet. This article specifically brings up Twitter and the recent phishing attack it had. Many people were hit by getting an email that seemed to be from a friend. This email would look inviting and prompt the user to click the link in the email into what they thought was Twitter's login page. However, once the info was sent, the user ID as well as the password to get in were sent to the phishers. The writer explains that there are two main reasons people fall for these attacks other than email. The first reason is the shortening of the url to click on certain pages. What occurs is that people click the link without seeing the whole URL, which often will give away the fact it is a hacking tool. The other main dilemma is the fact that Twitter allows users to use information to gain access to third party sites such as Wall Street journal. This again sets users up to go to a page that is stealing their information.

I have never used Twitter in my life and I never plan to. However, speaking generally about phishing, I realize that it is a much bigger issue than people let on. It is extremely simple for someone to gain your information, granted you fall for their tricks. I find it pretty incredible that people fall for certain scams and attempts to gain personal information. Does anyone really think that the great grandson of a deceased African King really wants you to have 3 million dollars? The first time I heard someone tell me this attempt to take personal information I laughed and wondered who would actually fall for something that ridiculous. To humor myself, I searched on Google and found not one or two, but thousands of links depicting how people fell into the trap and had their bank account info stolen and used.

We all get the emails that the main article referred to almost on a daily basis. It's usually something like "click here to claim your 500 dollar gift code" or "follow this link to learn how you can make 1000's of dollars just using your computer!" When these happen to slip past my junk folder, they do not even get opened. Yet more and more, especially in our current economic times, people follow these traps and can't understand why weeks later their computer won't turn on or their bank account has no money in it. The sad truth is this just human nature. Before the internet, these same types of operations were occurring, just on a more personal level.

Another article refferring to the Twitter phishing problem, http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/open_source/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=223100861&cid=RSSfeed_IWK_News discusses how a UK cabinet member and even a bank fell prey. The same email that the main article above discussed got these two powerful men into trouble. It goes to show that phishers are not just looking for the average person, they are looking for everyone. The article also talks about Twitter's attempt to stop this problem. They have posted everywhere that Twitter will not ask to follow links, and that certain emails are not from them.

It amazes me that even high powered people such the bank chair and a cabinet member could fall victim to this. Did they not think that a link saying "lol is this you" probably wasn't a good idea to follow? The truth of the internet though is that although government agencies are working nonstop to stop phishing, it will never be stopped. People will always be drawn into too good to be true links or links for social sites that don't even cross their mind of being suspicious. Until the world gains more common sense, phishers will profit.