Data Threats On the Rise, According to Report

The most recent Internet Security Threat Report Volume XI released by Symantec states that Internet threats these days are characterized by an increase in data theft, data leakage, and the creation of targeted, malicious code for the purpose of stealing confidential information that can be used for financial gain.

According to the report:

• More than 6 million distinct bot-infected computers worldwide during the second half of 2006, representing a 29 percent increase from the previous period. However, the number of command-and-control servers used to relay commands to these bots decreased by 25 percent, indicating that bot network owners are consolidating their networks and increasing the size of their existing networks.
• Trojans constituted 45 percent of the top 50 malicious code samples, representing a 23 percent increase over the first six months of 2006. This significant increase supports Symantec’s forecast from previous research, which noted that attackers appeared to be making a shift away from mass-mailing worms toward using Trojans.
• Symantec documented 12 zero-day vulnerabilities during the second half of 2006, marking a significant increase from the one zero-day vulnerability documented in the first half of 2006, increasing the exposure of consumers and businesses to unknown threats.
• Underground Economy Servers are being used by criminals and criminal organizations to sell stolen information, including government-issued identity numbers, credit cards, bank cards and personal identification numbers (PINs), user accounts, and e-mail address lists.
• Theft or loss of a computer or data storage medium, such as a USB memory key, made up 54 percent of all identity theft-related data breaches.
• For the first time, Symantec identified the countries with the highest amount of malicious activity originating from their networks. The United States had the highest proportion of overall malicious activity, with 31 percent; China was second, with 10 percent; and Germany was third, with 7 percent.

During the reporting period, Symantec observed a rise in threats to confidential information due to the increase of Trojans and bot networks enabling an attacker to gain access to a victim’s computer. Attacks that obtain sensitive data stored on an infected computer can result in significant financial loss, particularly if credit card or banking information is exposed. Threats to confidential information made up 66 percent of the top 50 malicious code reported to Symantec, an increase over the 48 percent reported in the previous period. Threats that could export user data, such as user names and passwords, accounted for 62 percent of threats to confidential information during the second half of 2006, up from 38 percent in the first half of the year.

Posted by Jon Erickson at 11:17 AM  Permalink