Online identity theft: Who's after my Facebook password?

The questions of "who" and "why" in identity theft remain largely ignored. That is, "Who is after online identities? And what for?"

Identity is best defined as a set of individual characteristics by which a person is recognised or known. The online world, however, has to rely on other elements of identity authentication. That most often is a login and password pair, and stealing an online identity boils down to stealing a login/password pair.

Though methods and strategies of ID thieve have been widely studied (Plain Phishing, Spear Phishing, Phisher Worms, Client-side Trojaning, etc.), the questions of "who" and "why" remain largely ignored; that is, Who is after online identities? And what for?

For instance, few people are aware that bank phishers usually don't personally siphon accounts they have stolen. They merely sell them to people who know how to turn a virtual nest egg into cash: money launderers.

You must be a registered member to access this content.
Please Sign in below or Register now.
NOTE: This Feature is more than 7 days old.
Please login to view the rest of this article

Login above or Register now and get unlimited access.

Already subscribed but have forgotten your login? Recover your password your here.


Why sign up?
  • Unlimited access to SC Magazine content as well as access to to our global resources from SC Magazine US and UK editions.
  • Full use of over 11,000 articles database covering breaking news, video interviews, case studies, research, product reviews and exclusive features with fast and intuitive filtering of results.
  • Personalised "Recommended for you" filters to ensure you have the most relevant content at your finger tips.
  • Daily security bulletin direct to your inbox covering the latest security news from Australia/NZ and around the world.

Register now, its free! We'll never sell your details to third parties and it helps SC Magazine to keep serving you quality stories.
Sign up to receive SC Magazine email newsletters
   FOLLOW US...
Most Read