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For Immediate Release

U.S. Central Credit Union Taps MarkMonitor to Thwart Rock Phish Attacks

Latest data shows credit unions account for 32.6% percent of all phishing attacks; phishers have become increasingly resilient

SAN FRANCISCO, January 14, 2008 – MarkMonitor®, the global leader in enterprise brand protection, today announced U.S. Central Credit Union (U.S. Central), the nation's only wholesale corporate credit union, has selected AntiPhishing Solutions from MarkMonitor to thwart increasingly sophisticated attacks by the Rock Phish organization. In less than three months, MarkMonitor has helped U.S. Central and its 26 member corporate credit unions detect, shut down and even prevent Rock Phish attacks.

MarkMonitor data shows phishers are targeting a greater breadth of institutions, with credit unions experiencing 32.6 percent of phishing attacks in Q3. The MarkMonitor Autumn 2007 Brandjacking Index includes evidence of increasingly automated phishing site deployment and management, including techniques to make phishing sites more resilient. They are also automating their operations further by hiring botnet vendors and using development tools that are readily available and downloadable.

The Rock Phish organization first attacked U.S. Central in June. Because the credit union had no system in place to combat phishing sites, the information security and risk management teams immediately sought a solution to stop the attacks. They quickly selected MarkMonitor for its proven technology, take-down speed and unmatched service. Within 24 hours of first contact, MarkMonitor shut down all of the phish sites, many within the first few hours. Since June, MarkMonitor has protected U.S. Central from several other Rock Phish attacks, each time responding swiftly and proactively.

“Within the first few hours of that first attack, we knew we had to do something fast,” said Jean Golka, information technology risk manager for U.S. Central. “We instantly realized that it was far too big a job for us to manage internally; it would take multiple team members working around the clock. Out of the list of vendors we contacted, MarkMonitor by far was the most responsive, had the sites taken down quickly and put a plan in place to protect us against future attacks.”

“Criminals around the world continue to take advantage of the Internet to hijack reputable brands for their own profit,” said Frederick Felman, chief marketing officer of MarkMonitor. “As these ever-adaptive criminals use the Internet to expand their reach into new markets and verticals, it is the responsibility of brand holders to protect their brands, customers and revenue from the threats they pose.”

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.

About U.S. Central Credit Union

U.S. Central is the nation's only wholesale corporate credit union. Together, U.S. Central and its 26 member corporate credit unions comprise the Corporate Network, which provides liquidity, lending and payment services to the nation's nearly 8,800 natural person credit unions. For more information, visit U.S. Central's Web site at www.uscentral.org.

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Contact:

Te Smith, MarkMonitor
813-818-1267 (mobile)
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.