 |
Home > News > NTT Comware launches Sales of PHISHCUT, an Anti-Phishing Solution which utilizes Digital Watermarking to protect Personal Information from Phishing Scams
-- PHISHCUT Prevents the Sending of Personal Information to Websites connected with Phishing Scams --
|
|
|
|
| 2006.03.13 |
|
NTT Comware launches Sales of PHISHCUT, an Anti-Phishing Solution which utilizes Digital Watermarking to protect Personal Information from Phishing Scams
-- PHISHCUT Prevents the Sending of Personal Information to Websites connected with Phishing Scams --
NTT Comware (Head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Yuhji Imai; below, NTT Comware) will launch
sales of PHISHCUT, its anti-phishing solution which utilizes digital watermarking technology (*1).
This solution will protect personal information from phishing scams which utilize counterfeit
websites to solicit personal information.
|
 |
[Background]
Phishing scams are acts of fraud committed by criminals who assume the identity of established
financial institutions such as banks, and then contact victims through e-mail instructing them to
access counterfeit websites to enter personal information including their User ID and credit card
numbers. This type of fraud is on the rise, particularly in the United States, and has also occurred
in Japan, the incidence of which is expected to increase. Phishing scams are therefore among the
most pressing social problems today and require the development of countermeasures designed to
protect the personal information of internet users who engage in internet banking and other
internet-based activities from this type of crime. At NTT Comware, we have long been aware of the
magnitude of this problem and have developed the PHISHCUT solution in response.
[About PHISHCUT Functions]
PHISHCUT is a system which embeds digital watermarks into the websites used by financial
institutions as well as internet banking and shopping sites. PHISHNET also determines and informs
the users who access these sites whether the website to which they are attempting to send personal
information including their User ID and credit card number is real or counterfeit. First, NTT
Comwarefs Authentication System compares the data embedded within the digital watermark with the
data contained within the website. If the website is an official website with a digital watermark,
PHISHCUT will allow the userfs personal information to be sent. However, if PHISHCUT determines
the website to be potentially counterfeit, PHISHCUT will display a warning on the userfs browser
and will prevent the userfs personal information from being sent to the website.
[System Structure and Special Characteristics]
The PHISHCUT system utilizes three components: the digital watermarks embedded in websites,
specialized software essential for browser terminals, and the Authentication System. The digital
watermark obtained from the Authentication System is set on the customerfs website, and the bona
fide data for the website is recorded. No special equipment is required, allowing customers to
easily implement this solution. In addition, the only preparation required from the users accessing
the website is the downloading of the specialized software from the Authentication System.
In addition, if the important data is recorded onto the downloaded software beforehand, PHISHCUT
will display a warning which gives users the option to send or not send their personal information
to websites the user has accessed which contain no digital watermark.
[Future Development]
With the objective of protecting the personal information of internet users from the phishing
scams expected to increase in Japan, NTT Comware will expand its sales of this solution to
financial institutions beginning with banks and has set a sales target of 600,000,000 Yen for the
three-year period beginning from April 2006.
[Price]
The authentication server and the website from which the specialized software is downloaded are
prepared by NTT Comware, and are provided to users through an ASP. The service usage fees for the
PHISHCUT Solution can begin from 500,000 Yen a month in the case where PHISHCUT is adopted by one
bank and the Authentication System is accessed 250,000 times or less during a one-month period.
NTT Comware plans to launch sales of PHISHCUT in mid-April.
[Terminology]
*1 Digital Watermarking Technology
Digital watermarking technology is used to embed data that cannot be perceived by the human senses
into digital content such as imagery, animation and audio data. This technology is often used to
embed copyright information into digital content.
*2 ASP (Application Service Provider)
An ASP is a business which rents business application software to users over the internet. Users
utilize the application software installed on the ASPfs server through their web browser.
* PHISHCUT is the trademark of the NTT Comware Corporation.
* The NTT Comware Corporation is currently engaged in the application process for a patent for
the PHISHCUT Service.
|
|
|
The information shown in this page is the latest as of the day of the release. It is subject to change without further notice. Thank you for your kind understanding and consideration.
|
|
|
