
210 Cyberpower
8.3 Spam and phishing: assets for criminals
Redirected from its original purpose as a tool for marketing, spam has become
a means of distributing malicious software (malware and crimeware) and
a mechanism for carrying out frauds. The sending of massive quantities of
unsolicited electronic messages allows criminals to contact a huge number
of Internet users. Previously, spam was regarded primarily as a nuisance, but
nowadays spam represents a real threat. It decreases user productivity and has
direct and indirect costs on people and organizations affected by it.
At its worst, spam resembles an e-mail bombing attack, with overloaded ...