2008 Security threat report: Overview

2007 at a glance

Hackers use the web to infect users – malicious code increasingly embedded on high-traffic websites or adverts.

Web threats – one new infected webpage discovered by Sophos every 14 seconds, or 6,000 a day.

Cybercrime reaches Apple – Mac users being targeted by financially motivated hackers for the first time, proving malware is not just a Windows problem.

Threats to mobile and Wi-Fi users – iPhones, iPod Touches, ultra-mobile PCs and others at greater risk of attack and may encourage exploitation of browser vulnerabilities.

Information theft soars – scammers using stolen data to craft targeted emails.

State-sponsored cyberwarfare cited – but no evidence of the danger made public.

Pessimism reigns – public not confident that IT security will improve in 2008 following
headline-making incidents.

International authorities stepping up to the mark – law-enforcement around the world at last seeing punishment fit the crime.

Security threat report: 2008 - Overview

The world of malware fundamentally changed in 2007, as hackers fully embraced the web as their primary route for infecting computers. As more computer users have defended their email gateways with security solutions, cybercriminals are planting malicious code on innocent websites, lying in wait for victims to come to them and be silently infected.

Whereas virus writers of ten years ago were typically creating code for mischief, today’s attacks are organized, commercial endeavors designed to steal information and resources from the computers of victims for one reason above any other: to make money. The scale of their global criminal operations have reached such a height that Sophos discovers a new infected webpage every 14 seconds – 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

It has also become clear that malware is more than a Microsoft problem. Although the number of Windows threats overshadows attacks against any other platform, financially-motivated cybercriminals are turning their attention to alternative platforms such as Apple Macintosh and web servers running Apache. This trend seems likely to continue in 2008, and we may see the emergence of new threats against portable Wi-Fi enabled devices such as the iPhone, iPod Touch and ultra-mobile PCs.

It remains paramount for businesses to defend themselves at all levels of their organization - not only do they need to secure their email and web gateways, but also to ensure that networks and endpoints are comprehensively protected in 2008 against the myriad of threats posed by the
criminal underground.