CipherTrust Proves Worldwide Phishing Attacks Originate from Fewer Than Five Zombie Network Operators
During the first two weeks in October, CipherTrust found that less than one percent of e-mail messages are phishing attacks. Although the percentage of phishing messages is relatively small, researchers discovered that each day phishing attacks on the Internet were delivered via a different set of 1,000 zombies, or computers that are maliciously taken over by viruses without the owners’ knowledge; and 70 percent of those zombies were also used to send spam. Most significantly, CipherTrust researchers have determined that fewer than five zombie networks are responsible for all Internet phishing attacks worldwide.
Percentage of Corporate Phishing Victims
| Company |
% of Attacks |
| CitiBank |
54.16% |
| Smith Barney |
13.48% |
| SunTrust |
10.02% |
| Paypal |
7.57% |
| Wells Fargo |
5.42% |
| HSBC |
5.07% |
| eBay |
4.15% |
| USBank |
0.11% |
| CitizensBank |
0.014% |
Unlike spam, CipherTrust research indicates that phishing attacks are precisely targeted. For example, recent findings revealed that Lloyds TSB, one of Europe’s leading financial institutions, has been subject to use by phishing scammers, with messages sent virtually exclusively to e-mail users located in Europe, where the company is based.
Country of Origin (by message count)
| Country |
% of Attacks |
| United States |
32.07% |
| Republic of Korea |
15.39% |
| France |
6.55% |
| China |
6.40% |
| United Kingdom |
4.06% |
| Germany |
3.85% |
| Spain |
3.81% |
| Japan |
3.05% |
| Italy |
2.48% |
“Phishing attacks represent a collaboration of the world’s most skilled hackers and organized crime—instead of breaking into the bank to take money, phishers are tricking users into handing over their account information, or rather the electronic keys to the vault,” said Paul Judge, chief technology officer at CipherTrust. “Regardless of the number of people propagating these threats or the volume of e-mail constituted by phishing, CipherTrust takes them seriously, and will continue to prevent these attacks from reaching our customers. CipherTrust is committed to working with other members of the e-mail ecosystem to stop the perpetrators responsible for phishing, and make the Internet a safer place to conduct business.”
Country of Origin (by IP)
| Country |
% of Attacks |
| United States |
27.74% |
| Republic of Korea |
17.35% |
| China |
8.00% |
| France |
6.27% |
| Germany |
4.85% |
| United Kingdom |
3.95% |
| Spain |
3.59% |
| Japan |
3.49% |
| Italy |
2.43% |
|
 |
|
