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For Immediate Release

Banks’ Top Phishing Fears – Financial Loss and Lost Customer Trust

SAN FRANCISCO, July 24 , 2007 –MarkMonitor®, the global leader in enterprise brand protection, announced that a recent survey conducted by the company revealed that financial loss and eroding customer trust are the top concerns among U.S. super regional banks regarding phishing attacks. In addition, more than half of responding banks said they were the targets of one to more than 20 phishing attacks in the last year, while one third of respondents said they could not determine whether their banks had been abused by phishers in that same timeframe.

The survey of 60 super regional banks—large banks that have a dominant position across geographic regions of the United States—focused on banks’ concerns regarding phishing and the steps they are taking to combat phishers. The findings build on other recent statistics from the MarkMonitor Brandjacking Index showing phishers are targeting financial institutions of all sizes – six out of the top 10 U.S. banks were phishing targets last year and credit unions are now experiencing 39 percent of phishing attacks.

After financial loss and customer trust (each of which was cited by 26 percent of respondents as their top phishing concern), other concerns regarding phishing attacks were damage to company’s brands and negative publicity.

Financial organizations are prepared to dedicate more resources to protect their businesses and customers. Many of the banks surveyed have taken steps to fight phishing threats, with 45 percent of respondents using a combination of outsourced solutions and internal resources. More than 80 percent of respondents will continue or increase their investment against phishing attacks within the next year.

Despite the serious concerns banking institutions have about the ramifications of phishing attacks, a surprising number of banks:

• Don’t know how quickly they’re able to shut down a phishing attack (30 percent)
• Have no means to block customers from accessing known phish sites (11 percent)

“Phishers are now targeting financial institutions of all shapes and sizes, but many banks are unsure of how to detect attacks and fight back,” said Frederick Felman, chief marketing officer at MarkMonitor. “We discovered 38 percent of banks are notified of phishing attacks by customers, indicating a strong need for preventative approaches that stop the problem before customers are affected.”

Mark Monitor protects banks, credit unions and other companies of all sizes from phishing attacks, shutting down between 4,500 to 7,500 phishing sites every month for leading financial institutions, Fortune 100 organizations and other companies. For a copy of the survey findings, as well as MarkMonitor’s Brandjacking Index, please visit www.markmonitor.com/phishingsurvey. More information on anti-phishing solutions from MarkMonitor is available at www.markmonitor.com.

About MarkMonitor

MarkMonitor, the global leader in enterprise brand protection, offers comprehensive solutions and services that safeguard brands, reputation and revenue from online risks. With end-to-end solutions that address the growing threats of online fraud, brand abuse and unauthorized channels, MarkMonitor enables a secure Internet for businesses and their customers. The company’s exclusive access to data combined with its real-time prevention, detection and response capabilities provide wide-ranging protection to the ever-changing online risks faced by brands today. For more information, visit www.markmonitor.com.

 

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Press Contacts:

Te Smith, MarkMonitor
(831)-818-1267 (mobile)/(415) 278-8400
te.smith@markmonitor.com

Jonathan Jordan, A&R Edelman for MarkMonitor
(202)-370-6187 (office) / (240)-483-6986 (mobile)
jjordan@ar-edelman.com

Editor’s Notes: MarkMonitor® is a registered trademark of MarkMonitor, Inc. All other trademarks included herein are the property of their respective owners.