2008 Awards for Excellence

Citation

(2008), "2008 Awards for Excellence", The Electronic Library, Vol. 26 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/el.2008.26326eaa.002

2008 Awards for Excellence

Article Type: 2008 Awards for Excellence From: The Electronic Library, Volume 26, Issue 5

The journal’s Outstanding paper was:

"A framework of anti-phishing measures aimed at protecting the online consumer’s identity"

Rika ButlerDepartment of Accountancy, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to aim to educate the internet consumer, who may be a potential phishing victim, and to suggest a framework of anti-phishing measures, following the staggering increase in the number of recent phishing attacks. Phishing describes a method of online identity theft, in which phishers typically pose as legitimate organisations when sending deceptive e-mail messages to internet users. When they respond to such e-mails, victims are lured to malicious web sites, where they are duped into disclosing their personal details. In this way, phishers are able to commit identity theft, with possibly devastating consequences for the victim.Design/methodology/approach – After a literature review of the available sources, the phishing threat is investigated by analysing the modus operandi of phishers and the basic components of a typical phishing scheme. A possible solution for the phishing problem is examined.Findings – Phishers continually target the weakest link in the security chain, namely consumers, in their attacks. Educating the online consumer about phishing, as well as the implementation and proper application of anti-phishing measures, are critical steps in protecting the identities of online consumers against e-mail phishing attacks.Originality/value – This paper proposes measures that internet consumers can take to ward-off phishing attacks, as well as remedial actions that they can take after falling victim to such an attack. By implementing these measures online, consumers can minimise the risk of becoming victims of successful phishing attacks, as well as remedy the negative effects of any past disclosure of information to phishers.

Keywords: Electronic mail, Fraud, Information control, Online operations

www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/02640470710829514

This paper originally appeared in Vol. 25 No. 5, 2007, pp. 517-33 of The Electronic Library, Editor: David Raitt.

Highly commended papers

“A socio-technical perspective of museum practitioners’ image-using behaviors”

Hsin-Liang ChenVol. 25 No. 1, 2007.

“Print v. electronic reference sources: implications of an Australian study”

Ann Ritchie and Paul Genoni, Vol. 25 No. 4, 2007.

“Reading habits and attitude in the digital age: analysis of gender and academic program differences in Malaysia”

Nor Shahriza Abdul Karim and Amelia HasanVol. 25 No. 3, 2007.

The journal’s outstanding reviewer was:

Lesley MoyoDirector for Library Research and Instructional Services University Libraries Virginia Tech., VA, USA.