Phishing morphs into pharming | The Register

The trick – dubbed pharming – is potentially more sinister than phishing because it avoids the need to coax users into responding to junk email alerts. The attacks also occur across a broader front, potentially misdirecting all email and web traffic away from victims. Gerhard Eschelbeck, CTO of Qualys, cited the recent hijack of New York ISP Panix as typical of the type of threat that might emerge. Eschelbeck reckons the use of redirection attacks remains largely the domain of mischief makers. Other security commentators ascribe darker motives. “Pharming is a next-generation phishing attack,” Scott Chasin, CTO of MX Logic, told Government Computer News.