APWG Report: December's Crimeware Code Variants Shatter Record.

Up-Time for Phish Sites Falling, Indicating Counter-eCrime Efficiency Also Increasing

LOS ALTOS, Calif. & CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) announced today that the number of crimeware variants detected in December shattered all previous records rising to 340, an increase of more than 43 percent from the previous high of 237 variations - and some 62 percent higher than the December-to-December mean of 210 variants.

APWG researchers could point to no one single factor to account for the sudden apparent increase in crimeware mutations which rose 48 percent from 230 in November to December's spike of 340. However, it is likely that broader use of software tools to create the variations and test their ability to avoid detection by anti-virus systems has helped phishers and their correspondent technologists achieve new levels of automation.

Dan Hubbard, Vice President of Security Research at Websense, and an APWG contributing researcher, said, "Malicious code variants are being produced in large numbers and are designed to circumvent security measures such as signature-based solutions. We frequently see the same website serving multiple unique samples throughout the day and sometimes changing code for each connected user - and never serving the same user the same code twice."

Also in the December report was some heartening statistical evidence of increasing efficiency of counter-e-ecrime strategies. The up-time of phishing sites dropping to 4 days from 4.5 days in November - and substantially down from 5.3 days in December 2005. (New phish sites detected by APWG researches fell, meanwhile, from 37,439 in November to 28,531 during the month of December.)

APWG Secretary General Peter Cassidy said, "In the context of thousands of servers out in the field deployed to phish consumers, getting them off line a whole half-day quicker is an important achievement in protecting consumers. Every hour gained in that effort means more consumers were protected from arriving at a phish site and being defrauded."

The full text of the report is available at: http://www.antiphishing.org/reports/apwg_report_december_2006.pdf

About the Anti-Phishing Working Group

The Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) is an industry association focused on eliminating the identity theft and fraud that result from the growing problem of phishing, email spoofing and crimeware. Membership is open to qualified financial institutions, online retailers, ISPs, the law enforcement community and solutions providers. There are more than 1,500 companies and government agencies participating in the APWG and more than 2,500 members. The APWG's web site (http://www.antiphishing.org) offers the public and industry information about phishing and email fraud, including identification and promotion of pragmatic technical solutions that provide immediate protection. APWG's corporate sponsors include: 41st Parameter, 8e6 Technologies, AT&T (T), Able NV, ActivCard (ACTI), Adobe (ADBE), AhnLab, Aladdin Knowledge Systems (ALDN), Anakam, Anonymizer, BBN Technologies, BlueStreak, Brandimensions, Bsecure Technologies, Cisco (CSCO), Clear Search, Cloudmark, Comodo, Corillian (CORI), Cydelity, Cyveillance, DigitalEnvoy, DigitalResolve, Earthlink (ELNK), eBay/PayPal (EBAY), Entrust (ENTU), Experian, eEye Digital Security, F-Secure, Grisoft, GeoTrust, GlobalSign, GoDaddy, ING Bank, Iconix, InternetIndentity, Internet Security Systems, IOvation, IS3, Kaspersky Labs, Lenos Software, LightSpeed Systems, MailFrontier, MailShell, MarkMonitor, McAfee (MFE), MasterCard, MessageLevel, Microsoft (MSFT), Mirapoint, MX Logic, NameProtect, National Australia Bank (ASX: NAB) Netcraft, NetStar, PassMark, Panda Software, Phoenix Technologies, Inc. (PTEC), Quova, RSA Security (RSAS), SAIC, SecureBrain, Secure Computing (SCUR), Sigaba, SOPHOS, SquareTrade, SurfControl, Symantec (SYMC), The 41st Parameter, Trek Blue, Trend Micro (TMIC), Tricerion, TriCipher, Tumbleweed Communications (TMWD), SurfControl (SRF.L), Vasco (VDSI), VeriSign (VRSN), Visa, Websense, Inc. (WBSN), WholeSecurity, Yahoo! (YHOO) and ZixCorp.