How can we guard against pharming attacks?
Just as pharming is more technically difficult to pull off than phishing, it’s more technically complicated to protect against. Here are some basics. a) Deploy technologies such as intrusion prevention and antivirus software, desktop firewalls with filters to look for spyware, and logging software to look for particular events such as spikes in DNS traffic or spikes in e-mail traffic from a single user. b) Make incident response teams aware of the threat, and teach employees and customers how to avoid pharming incidents. Also ramp up education efforts aimed at business partners, especially for smaller companies that might need help to deal with the pharming threat. c) Place controls on DNS servers, such as host-based intrusion detection systems, to prevent visitors or customers to websites from inadvertently participating in a pharming attack. There are also some vendors that focus on DNS security, such as UltraDNS. d) Be prepared to have Internet service providers quickly shut down ma
