A large insurance group and two other big South African enterprises became the latest targets of phishing attacks this morning, says the Information Security Group of Southern Africa (ISGSA).
A phishing attack was launched against clients of Mutual and Federal, as well as those of two other companies that did not wish to be identified, says ISGSA chairman Graig Rosewarne.
"At this stage it is not know whether the attacks were launched by an international syndicate or where they originated, but clients of these companies have been warned not to respond to e-mails asking them to update their account information," Rosewarne states.
SA is likely to increasingly become a target for phishing attacks, he warns, as many companies, specifically mid-sized businesses, are seen as soft targets.
"The UK and US markets are mostly seen as overtraded. SA, being the richest country on the continent, could attract international syndicates. These are likely to target companies that have few security measures in place and often no dedicated security personnel."
The latest attacks are showing a new trend in phishing tactics, Rosewarne points out.
"The attackers are getting clever. They no longer target banks, but are trying to get people`s banking details through a third party. The danger is that some people could be caught unaware."
Rosewarne could not say whether any of the targeted clients were compromised during the attack.
Following the incident, ISGSA sent out warnings to all its member companies, about 600 in total, including SA`s biggest insurance groups.
Mutual and Federal was not available for comment at the time of publication.
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