Security specialists Symantec published their annual security report on Tuesday 20th April. This report gives an overview of trends and issues in online security over 2009. According to the report there were over 100 attacks on computers per second globally and, despite growing awareness of security measures, one PC may be affected every 4.5 seconds. Many of the issues noted by the company were caused by fake anti virus software and malware.
Malware Grows by 71% in 2009 Compared to 2008
According to Symantec research, 2009 saw a major increase of 71% in malware over 2008. This effectively means that 51% of all security issues ever tracked by the company appeared in this year alone. This is held to be caused by increased availability of toolkits that allow individuals to make and use their own malware.
One of the major players in this field last year was the Zeus malware program. This software is marketed and sold to cyber criminals and is often used to create malicious "botnets" or networks of PCs that are infected and then used for spam or data theft purposes.
Cyber Criminals Make Inroads Into Developing Countries
The 2008 Symantec report noted that many developing countries were starting to have problems with cyber crime. This is shown to have increased in the 2009 report. Symantec began researching issues by nation in 2006 and previous reports have all had the same top three (United States, China and Germany).
2009 saw Brazil join the US and China in the top three for the first time, knocking Germany into fourth position. This is held to be down to the country's increased use of Internet and broadband technologies making it a prime target for cyber criminals.
Web Based Attacks Continue to Cause Problems for Internet Explorer and Adobe
The report also notes that many attacks on computer users have switched to using web based applications in recent years. Early viruses and malware were often spread via spam emails but, as consumers became more security conscious, this became less effective. Now, many people suffer from security problems when led to websites or downloads that can compromise their machines.
The top five vulnerabilities listed in the report are all based around Internet Explorer and PDF applications. This is held to be down to the widespread use and popularity of these programs. Internet Explorer, for example, had only 45 vulnerabilities reported by Symantec in 2009 compared to Firefox's 169. IE, however, remained the program that was attacked most.
Fake Anti Virus Software and Malware Causes Significant Problems
Fake anti virus programs work on a scareware basis by frightening computer users into believing that their system has been infected. Many will then download a virus or ransomware program or hand over their personal financial data to cyber criminals. Vincent Weafer, Symantec Vice President, stated in a Reuters report that: "Virtually everything we see today is fake AV (anti-virus). It's such a money-making racket."
It is generally easier to take preventative methods to avoid issues with computer security than to deal with them after the fact. Consumers may be wise to learn about commonly used malware such as fake anti virus software and web based malware such as drive-by downloads. Protecting computers with anti virus, malware and firewall programs may also be worth considering.
Sources:
- Symantec 2009 Internet Security Threat Report; reuters.com ("Fake security software still big problem - Symantec"); BBC Online ("Web hit by hi-tech crime wave"). Accessed 20th April 2010.
Carol Finch - Carol Finch is the Topic Editor for Retirement Planning, Budgeting, E-Commerce & Technical/Business Writing on Suite101.
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