Pharming.......

Net users warned of ‘pharming’

Chandigarh: Internet users now will have to be more watchful while carrying out their online financial transactions as Pharming, a trick used by hackers has surfaced in the country.

"Pharming is a new security threat for internet users which is developing in the country and it is primarily launched by hackers on websites for making financial gains," Cyber Security Research Centre Associate Coordinator Divya Bansal said.

"Hackers redirect internet traffic from one website to a different, identical site in order to allure you to enter your user name and password on their fake site,” Divya said.

Hackers try to acquire personal information in order to access the user's bank account, steal identity, or commit other kinds of fraud in his name. Banking and similar financial sites are often become target of these attacks, she said.

Although there have been a few incidents of pharming in the country they have not been reported, she said, adding that the problem could further deepen because of the growing usage of internet in India.

India has about 4 million internet subscribers and 11 million users.

Agreeing that it is a new security threat, Microsoft Corporation Director (Corporate Affairs) Deepak Maheshwari said, "This is just an extension of Phishing."