SAN FRANCISCO -- Cloudmark, the proven leader in real-time messaging security, announced today that it has seen a substantial increase in attacks on European banking brands, with increases of nearly 300% in a month in some cases. Phishers are leveraging easily-obtainable phishing packages to move swiftly from one institution to another.

Paul Averill, Vice President Sales for EMEA, says Cloudmark is building its European presence and industry initiatives to combat this threat. Recent announcements in Europe include launch of service for Tele2 to protect its subscribers across 22 countries, selection by intY, an email and internet security specialist for Business and Education, and collaboration with Ireland-based Anam Mobile to protect mobile subscribers from “smishing,” or phishing threats via SMS.

According to Averill, “Phishers go where they can make the most money most rapidly, and there is still a relatively high level of trust and naivety that allows these threats to take hold. We have seen attacks move swiftly from Barclays Bank to the Bank of Scotland over the few short months since we warned of potential increases last July. Our anti-abuse solutions provide market leading protection against phishing, spam and viruses, and we look forward to leveraging our experience in industry organizations such as the Anti-Phishing Working Group to support initiatives in Europe.”

Cloudmark Inc.