Why Phishing Attacks Are Here to Stay

There will never be a time when phishing attacks are a solved problem. We’ve been trying to solve the email spam problem for close to twenty years now, and today the best we can say is that it’s manageable. Social engineering scams have been around with us since the dawn of recorded history. Phishing scams are really no different, in that they target people (rather than computers), and any kind of communication medium can be used to send scams.

The best that we can do is figure out better ways of coping with phishing attacks.

At Wombat Security, our philosophy is twofold. First, make things as invisible as possible, by preventing problems from happening in the first place. Our PhishPatrol® filter incorporates sophisticated techniques for identifying phishing emails and catching the phish that leading anti-spam/anti-virus filters do not.

Second, offer meaningful training, to help people detect malicious emails. Trained employees are perhaps the most overlooked aspect of computer security today, but one that is necessary for enterprises. Our comprehensive suite of anti-phishing assessment and training products, which includes PhishGuru®, Email Security, and Anti-Phishing Phil™, provides the most effective approach for teaching people how to protect themselves.

Like most computer security threats, phishing attacks are a game of escalation. The bad guys launch a new kind of attack, and then the good guys respond with countermeasures. And then things remain quiet for a while, before the bad guys launch their next round of attacks. In this ongoing game of cat and mouse, the best defense is one that combines automated defenses with top-notch training, to offer the best possible protection possible for your enterprise.