Half of phishing sites display green security lock



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Since browsers began using HTTPS pages, green security locks have become a guarantee of protection for users – with the promise of scrambling traffic data with encryption. But, according to a recent study by security firm PhishLabs, padlocks are no longer trusted: 49% of phishing sites discovered in the third quarter of this year carried this icon next to the page address.

The numbers are impressive since it is an increase of 25% over last year and 35% over the previous three months. This increase is due to both the discontinuation of HTTPS (or SSL) as a standard certificate and new techniques used by cyber criminals to deceive Internet users.

Google no longer uses the security lock and green color as a "security guarantee" in Chrome since May of this year. With the uncontrolled proliferation of various sites using this "seal of approval", the company is working on other solutions and is currently limited to identifying "unsecured" addresses with a red identification.

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In addition, Google has itself noticed that many malicious pages have obtained the SSL certificate via the registry of domains created by their own criminals. According to PhishLabs, 80% of respondents believe that the green security lock is a legitimate address, and thieves began to exploit this collective belief in a more intense way, including trying to look like a safe place.

So keep an eye out: be careful when filling out forms on unfamiliar websites, even if they have the green padlock; check the URL and if the names are correct as well as the destination; research the credibility of these pages with Procon and other agencies before distributing sensitive data; use anti-virus and anti-phishing software and password managers – and of course, pay attention to the browser warning that the page is not secure.

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