SPIM, Bots And Zombies Pose LatestCyber-Threats TO CUs

SAN FRANCISCO - (09/28/05) – Cyber-crooks are moving on fromphishing, pharming and spoofing to SPIM, bots and zombies; thelatest schemes aimed at harvesting credit union data for illegaluses, credit union executives and directors were warned here thisweek. With SPIM, criminals are Spamming Instant Messaging on anetwork’s computers; bots are allowing thieves to harvestemail addresses; and zombies are enabling third parties to takeover a credit unions computer systems without the credit union evenknowing it, according to online security expert Barry Thompson,during CUNA’s annual Future Forum. These latest threats areallowing crooks to infiltrate credit unions’ networks,providing them with access to members’ financial data, saidThompson, the head of Thompson Consulting Group. At the same time,online attacks from phishers, pharmers and spammers are alsoexpanding at increasing rates, with more than 600,000 phishingattacks reported last year. He cautioned credit union managers toequip their web sites with contacts for suspicions of online fraud.Most importantly, he said, “If you get hit, notify members asquickly as possible.”