Spear Phishing: The Silent Nuke in the Hacker Arsenal

Date and Time: October 22, 2009 - 10am-11am

Location: Memorial Union Lecture Bowl

Speaker: Pre-recorded webcast - Roht Belani, Intrepidus Group

Description:

This presentation will discuss the evolution of phishing from being a means of stealing user identities to becoming a mainstay of organized crime. Today, (spear) phishing is a key component in a "hackers" repertoire. It has been used to hijack online brokerage accounts to aid pump 'n dump stock scams, and as a means of creating covert channels from compromised user machines to the Internet.

During this talk, Rohyt will present the techniques used by attackers to execute such attacks and real-world cases that he has responded to that will provide perspective on the impact. This will be followed by a discussion on what works and what doesn't in building and testing user awareness to thwart such attacks.