The increase in hijacking of
email accounts has made it mandatory for users to change passwords
frequently and take some more steps to counter this problem.
Software giant, Microsoft, recently highlighted the upsurge in
hijacking of email accounts in their own email service, Windows Live
Hotmail. The company warned users, through a blog post, that their
accounts were getting hijacked by spammers. Users can access hijacked
accounts but they have to share them, perhaps unknowingly, with the
perpetrators.
Once hijacked, the hackers send emails to addresses in the
users’ contact list. This process is hazardous to the contacts and the
user because both of them end up downloading worms. Microsoft advised
its users to get the latest anti-virus definitions.
According to Randy Abrams, Director of Technical Education at
ESET, this (getting the latest anti-virus updates) may not be enough;
users need to understand the threats they face at a conceptual level.
It is believed that other email services such as Yahoo Mail and Gmail
may also be used to carry out such attacks.
These email account hijacking incidents prove that spammers
have evolved new and effective techniques to spam and phish. The
current scenario suggests that the process of evolving techniques will
not stop. Users need to be a lot more careful when it comes to their
email accounts. For example, they ought to change their passwords once
in a week.
The anti-virus program also has to be up-to-date. Along with
these basic steps, people who use the Internet frequently must read
articles on how to deal with spamming and phishing, and share the
information with others via online and offline techniques. Consulting
experts and understanding the measures they can employ to counter these
two problems at technical level is another option worth exploring.
Collaboration between online security companies, software
makers, anti-virus companies and free email
service providers is necessary for stepping up efforts to
deal with spamming and phishing. One thing they can do is request local
authorities to introduce policies against the menaces of spamming and
phishing. With time, these efforts will bear fruit in the form of
curtailment or even termination of such hijacking attempts.
Source:
http://rcpmag.com/articles/2009/08/27/hotmail-accounts-getting-hijacked.aspx
The increase in hijacking of email accounts has made it mandatory for users to change passwords frequently and take some more steps to counter this problem.
Software giant, Microsoft, recently highlighted the upsurge in hijacking of email accounts in their own email service, Windows Live Hotmail. The company warned users, through a blog post, that their accounts were getting hijacked by spammers. Users can access hijacked accounts but they have to share them, perhaps unknowingly, with the perpetrators.
Once hijacked, the hackers send emails to addresses in the users’ contact list. This process is hazardous to the contacts and the user because both of them end up downloading worms. Microsoft advised its users to get the latest anti-virus definitions.
According to Randy Abrams, Director of Technical Education at ESET, this (getting the latest anti-virus updates) may not be enough; users need to understand the threats they face at a conceptual level. It is believed that other email services such as Yahoo Mail and Gmail may also be used to carry out such attacks.
These email account hijacking incidents prove that spammers have evolved new and effective techniques to spam and phish. The current scenario suggests that the process of evolving techniques will not stop. Users need to be a lot more careful when it comes to their email accounts. For example, they ought to change their passwords once in a week.
The anti-virus program also has to be up-to-date. Along with these basic steps, people who use the Internet frequently must read articles on how to deal with spamming and phishing, and share the information with others via online and offline techniques. Consulting experts and understanding the measures they can employ to counter these two problems at technical level is another option worth exploring.
Collaboration between online security companies, software makers, anti-virus companies and free email service providers is necessary for stepping up efforts to deal with spamming and phishing. One thing they can do is request local authorities to introduce policies against the menaces of spamming and phishing. With time, these efforts will bear fruit in the form of curtailment or even termination of such hijacking attempts.
Source: http://rcpmag.com/articles/2009/08/27/hotmail-accounts-getting-hijacked.aspx
