The recent attack on Facebook, when many of the social network�s 200 million users unwittingly revealed their passwords to hackers, was just the latest incident of mass �phishing� to hit the World Wide Web. Another reminder that identity theft has become a real threat as the Internet becomes a virtual extension of every individual.

Effendy Ibrahim, Norton business head, South Asia, thinks cyber security is no longer about protecting your PC from a virus. �With the emergence of an online lifestyle, we see new threats resulting from increased exposure through online bill payment, shopping, gaming and social networking. While traditional antivirus and security providers are focused on protecting applications, bigger threats like Phishing and Drive-by Downloads are targeting the networked lifestyle,� he explains.

Phishing is the process of acquiring personal information � usernames, passwords and credit card/bank account details � using communication purporting to be from popular websites, banks, online payment processors or even IT administrators. Carried out through email or instant messaging, it often directs users to enter personal details on webpages that look extremely genuine.

�Phishing emails are dangerous since these sites are online only for 3-5 days,� explains Ibrahim. So if any email or message, say from a bank or shopping site, asks for your personal information, call the respective company and confirm if such an email has indeed been sent out. �Never respond to any mail or message asking you to reveal your personal information,� says Ibrahim, advising users not to click URLs or call unknown phone numbers in the mails.

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