MCLEAN, Va., Dec. 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Today the
Commtouch Security Lab (CSL) published its Security Number of the
Month for December: Ninety days ago a substantial spam
campaign focusing on dubious offers and fake prizes began. However
since December 10, the campaign has
been thematically recycled and sent as a Christmas themed email,
featuring subjects such as "Letter from Santa For Your Child."
(Photo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131218/SF35299)
(Logo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130731/MM56946LOGO)
The Christmas-related modification to the large-scale spam
campaign illustrates that holidays are often intentionally used by
cybercriminals to rejuvenate and lengthen their otherwise ordinary
spam campaigns.
This spam campaign previously centered around dubious offers
providing unbelievable deals on numerous products. It also notified
recipients that they had allegedly won a prize and asked them to
answer a few questions and provide a physical address. Those who
responded unknowingly signed up for costly newsletters or
services.
After 90 days, the cyber crooks simply altered their social
engineering to focus on Christmas by soliciting orders for "the
perfect gift for any child" – a letter from Santa postmarked from
the North Pole. The revised approach is a clear example of how
these criminals repurpose an existing spam campaign by maximizing
the power of time-sensitive social engineering – sadly, an
incredibly efficient tactic.
A sample of the thematically "recycled" spam can be found on the
Commtouch blog:
http://blog.commtouch.com/cafe/commtouch-security-number-of-the-month/90-day-spam-campaign-turns-to-santa-in-december
Each month, the research team at Commtouch® (NASDAQ:
CTCH), a leading provider of Internet security technology and
cloud-based services, presents the "Commtouch Security Number
of the Month" – a number representing and illustrating a current
issue or trend in Internet security.
See the related Commtouch illustration.
About Commtouch
Commtouch® (NASDAQ: CTCH) is a leading provider of
Internet security technology and cloud-based services for vendors
and service providers, increasing the value and profitability of
our customers' solutions by protecting billions of Internet
transactions on a daily basis. With 12 global data centers and
award-winning, patented technology, Commtouch's email, Web, and
antivirus capabilities easily integrate into our customers'
products and solutions, keeping safe more than 550 million end
users. To learn more, visit www.commtouch.com.
- Blog: http://blog.commtouch.com/cafe
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/commtouch
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/commtouch
- Twitter: @Commtouch
Recurrent Pattern Detection, RPD, Zero-Hour and GlobalView
are trademarks, and Commtouch is a registered trademark of
Commtouch. U.S. Patent No. 6,330,590 is owned by Commtouch. All
other trademarks are the property of their respective
owners.
Company
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Iris
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EffectiveIR
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Iris@EffectiveIR.co.il
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SOURCE Commtouch