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| The phisher tried to steal details from MSN
users. |
Experts at SophosLabs™, Sophos's global
network of virus, spyware and spam analysis centers, have reminded
internet users of the importance of taking greater care online, as
a man is sentenced to 21 months in prison for phishing.
Jayson Harris, a 21-year-old living in Davenport, Iowa, has been
found guilty of sending emails to MSN customers that directed them
to a fake website in order to steal personal information.
Using a computer at his grandfather's house to launch the
phishing attack, Harris built an "identikit" website to the real
MSN site, in an attempt to fool up to 250 users into thinking they
were entering their sensitive data safely.
Security officials at Microsoft working with the FBI, tracked
Jayson Harris after following an electronic trail which reached as
far as Austria.
After launching a legal suit against Harris, Microsoft won a
default judgment of $3 million in December 2005, but it was felt
unlikely that they would ever see the money as Harris's only legal
source of income was from working at a Blockbuster video rental
store.
"It is essential that anyone who uses the internet should be
properly defended against the increasing amount of criminal
activity we are seeing online. Everyone should practise safe computing and protect
themselves with up-to-date security software," said Graham Cluley, senior
technology consultant for Sophos. "A strong message needs to be
sent out by the authorities that they are not going to turn a blind
eye to phishers and identity fraudsters."
Harris has been sentenced to 21 months in prison, and ordered to
repay $57,000.
Sophos recommends companies put in place a consolidated solution to defend against spam,
phishing, viruses and spyware, and ensure that it is automatically
updated as new threats emerge.
More than 100 million users in 150 countries rely on Sophos as the best protection against complex threats and data loss. Sophos is committed to providing security and data protection solutions that are simple to manage, deploy and use and that deliver the industry's lowest total cost of ownership. Sophos offers award-winning encryption, endpoint security, web, email, and network access control solutions backed by SophosLabs - a global network of threat intelligence centers. With more than two decades of experience, Sophos is regarded as a leader in security and data protection by top analyst firms and has received many industry awards.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.