SonicWALL, Inc. announced its customers utilizing the Unified Threat Management (UTM) and Email Security products are protected against the most recent spear-phishing attacks targeted at U.S.- based CEOs. The combination of SonicWALL's Email Security (anti-spam, anti-phishing, and email policy) and UTM solutions (gateway anti- virus, gateway intrusion prevention, firewall, anti-spam, and content filtering) provide the most comprehensive multi-layered protection for business today to guard against spear-phishing attacks.
Spear-phishing, a targeted attack at small groups and specific individuals, is one of the fastest growing types of security threats today and can be highly lucrative for the attacker. The CEO spear-phishing attack masquerades as an official e-mail subpoena from the United States (U.S.)District Court in San Diego.
In the email, recipients are instructed to click on a link to view the subpoena in its entirety. When users click on the link, spyware software launches capturing passwords and key corporate data such as company financials, merger and acquisition plans and correspondence with other executives and board members.
"Spear-phishing works because the spam is so targeted that recipients feel obligated to act," said Boris Yanobsky, SonicWALL's VP of engineering. "We predict these types of attacks will increase in the coming years.
Unfortunately, traditional spam detection is focused on identifying large bulk mailings versus spear-phishing attacks. SonicWALL's UTM approach protect customers at several layers -- if for any reason the phishing gets through at the email security level, our solutions are designed to prevent an actual download."
In an effort to combat the attack, SonicWALL released a Gateway Anti- Virus/Anti-Spyware signature to protect against the malware web downloads.
The initial Trojan, first identified on Monday, April 14, 2008, has since morphed into a new variant with a new URL and a new version of the spyware. Given the comprehensive nature of SonicWALL's solution, we have been able to detect and protect against both the older and newer version of the attack.
About SonicWALL, Inc.
SonicWALL is committed to improving the performance and productivity of businesses of all sizes by engineering the cost and complexity out of running a secure network. Over one million SonicWALL appliances have been shipped through its global network of ten thousand channel partners to keep tens of millions of worldwide business computer users safe and in control of their data. SonicWALL's award-winning solutions include network security, secure remote access, content security, backup and recovery, and policy and management technology. For more information, visit the company web site at http://www.sonicwall.com/.
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