White House calls fake pharma website meeting
The White House has called a meeting to discuss tackling fake pharmaceutical websites.


The US Government has organised a meeting to work out how to tackle the problem of illegitimate pharmaceutical websites.
A letter seen by US security guru Brian Krebs invites leaders of high-level internet domain name registrars and registries to the White House to talk about online crime and fraudulent pharmaceutical websites.
A White House Office of Management and Budget spokesperson confirmed to IT PRO that the event was going ahead, but could not provide any more details.
The letter, as seen on Krebs's blog, is addressed from White House senior adviser for intellectual property enforcement Andrew J Klein, inviting recipients to a meeting on 29 September to meet with senior officials.
"The purpose of this meeting is to discuss illegal activity taking place over the internet generally, and more specifically, voluntary protocols to address the illegal sale of counterfeit non-controlled prescription medications online," the letter reads.
Trust in online pharmaceutical services has been a key target for cyber criminals for many years now.
A Symantec Hosted Services report showed the third most spammed industry area in August was the chemical and pharmaceutical sector.
Get the ITPro daily newsletter
Sign up today and you will receive a free copy of our Future Focus 2025 report - the leading guidance on AI, cybersecurity and other IT challenges as per 700+ senior executives
The sector was also the second most targeted industry for malware via email, with one in every 243.2 messages being blocked as malicious.
Tom Brewster is currently an associate editor at Forbes and an award-winning journalist who covers cyber security, surveillance, and privacy. Starting his career at ITPro as a staff writer and working up to a senior staff writer role, Tom has been covering the tech industry for more than ten years and is considered one of the leading journalists in his specialism.
He is a proud alum of the University of Sheffield where he secured an undergraduate degree in English Literature before undertaking a certification from General Assembly in web development.
-
Bigger salaries, more burnout: Is the CISO role in crisis?
In-depth CISOs are more stressed than ever before – but why is this and what can be done?
By Kate O'Flaherty Published
-
Cheap cyber crime kits can be bought on the dark web for less than $25
News Research from NordVPN shows phishing kits are now widely available on the dark web and via messaging apps like Telegram, and are often selling for less than $25.
By Emma Woollacott Published
-
Malicious WordPress plugin installed backdoor on thousands of websites
News Widget plugin spewed spam to unsuspecting victims
By Rene Millman Published
-
711 million data records revealed in spambot dump
News The data contains email addresses, passwords and server information too
By Zach Marzouk Published
-
Security experts uncover Tinder porn site spam scheme
News Chatbots use verification offers to lure in victims
By Adam Shepherd Published
-
Spammers selling fake tickets for Rio Olympics 2016
News Fraudsters have created fake ticketing websites to trick users
By Adam Shepherd Published
-
PPI companies punished for sending spam texts
News One company was fined £80,000 for sending 1.3 million texts to unsuspecting victims
By Clare Hopping Published
-
Fake WHO email about Ebola spreads malware
News Advice email from “World Health Organization” harbours its own virus
By Rene Millman Published
-
EE fixes spam Orange "Magic Numbers" text message glitch
News EE in firing line over deluge of spam messages sent to customers
By Caroline Donnelly Published
-
Why security vendors need a red card during the World Cup
In-depth The World Cup is being seized on by security vendors to spread FUD. Davey Winder's not impressed
By Davey Winder Published