CEOs Speared In New PhishingAttacks

ARLINGTON, Va. - (01/05/06) – Credit unions are being warnedof a new ‘spear phishing’ scam targeting CEOs thattries to take advantage of a recently patched Internet Explorerhole to compromise credit union computers. The attcks, according tothe CU Information Security Professionals Associations, use emailmessages sent to CEOs and other top executives which contain a linkto a web page that attempts to download a Trojan horse program ontothe executives’ computers. Several credit union executiveshave reported such attacks, known as spear phishing, because theytarget specific employees. Hudson Valley FCU reported receiving 12such emails, all targeted at directors and seniormanagers.