Download Web Wallet Preventing Phishing Attacks by Revealing User

10/20/2009
Loomi Liao
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The problems
Some anti-phishing solutions
The Web Wallet solutions
The Web Wallet User Interface
User study
Discussion
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A semantic attack: it exploits the gap
between user’s intentions and the system’s
operation.
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A site’s appearance does not reliably reflect
the site’s true identity.
User
• Look and Feel
• Semantic meaning
of its content
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Browser
• Correct URL
• SSL Certificate
• Site registration
information
Browser fails to give appropriate protection
to the sensitive data submission.
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Locations of warning indicators
 Peripheral area or centrally displayed web page
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Not user’s primary goal
Sloppy but common web practices
 Use IP addresses instead of hostnames
 Use a domain name that is different from their
brand names
 Use non-SSL protected login pages
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No good alternatives suggested
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Stop phishing at the email level
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Use security toolbars
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Visually differentiate the phishing sites from
the spoofed legitimate sites
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Two-factor authentication
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Get the User's Intention
 what is the data?
 where will it go?
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Integrate Security into the Workflow
 Disable the web form fields so that the user is
forced to activate Web Wallet
 Make itself the only affordance for input
 Makes user explicitly acknowledge and indicate
their intended site
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SSL certificate
Trusted third-party certificates
Site popularity
Site registration information
Site category information
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1.
Form Annotation
2.
Security Key
3.
Browser Sidebar
4.
Confirmation
Interface
5.
Negative Visual
Feedback
Flying icon
Zooming
character
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Normal Phishing Attack
Undetected-form Attack
Online-keyboard Attack
Fake-wallet Attack
Fake-suggestion Attack
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Spoof rates with and without
the Web Wallet protection
Spoof rates of the five attacks in
the Web Wallet test
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Effectively
prevent
• Normal phishing
attack
• Online-keyboard
attack
• Fake-suggestion
attack
Fail to effectively
prevent
• Undetected-form
attack
• Fake-wallet attack
Negative visual
feedback fails
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Can users trust Web Wallet?
 Spoofed Web Wallet
 Fail to give correct suggestions
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Can security task integrate into the workflow?
 Forcing users to use it by disabling the sensitive
input field
 Asking users to select their intended site
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M. Wu, R. Miller, and G. Little. Web Wallet:
Preventing Phishing Attacks by Revealing
User Intentions. In Proceedings of the
Symposium On Usable Privacy and Security
2006, Pittsburgh, PA, July 12-14, 2006.
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