BACKGROUND:
Move over ransomware! “Smishing”, a form of “phishing” using SMS or text messages instead of email messages, is taking over and threatening millions of consumers and small businesses around the world. Below are the expert comments on the danger of Smishing and how best to avoid it.
<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">In the case of phishing attacks, it is no longer enough to watch out for crudely worded emails. When it comes to fake texts, recipients must also consider the context, content and sender. Unfortunately, this is the root problem of any system without authentication or trusted identities. Text and email identities can be easily spoofed with zero consequence to the criminal and little recourse to report it, making people sitting ducks for attacks.</span></p>
<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, sans-serif;\">In our increasingly connected world, trust is crucial at every step of the way in communication systems. Currently, any attacker can pose as DPD or The Royal Mail and individuals would be none the wiser. While there are a number of candidates for achieving these levels of trusted identity – the main one is PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) technology. PKI technology can be used to integrate cryptographically provable identity across every device.</span></p>