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INTERNET & SECURITY: BAD EXPECTATIONS FOR 2007

NEW YORK (USA). According to the last report “Internet Threat Outlook” carried out by the American group CA, in 2007 we will be experiencing a convergence between spyware and virus and consequent increasing attacks by hackers. Phishing will increase too because it will be more sophisticated and will threat the privacy of the most careful users. Such activity, in particular, is expected to give cause for most concern due to the spread of new methods to steal intellectual properties, personal data and bank accounts data. Phishers are expected use international organizations, internal networks and social networking tools as diffusion vehicle. As the Vice President of Malicious Content Research of CA Brian Grayek explained, those who write malicious codes (malware) make the distinction among Trojan horse, worm, virus and spyware ever more subtle. Today those who spread spyware use more sophisticated techniques in relation to those who create virus or worms and can identify - and use - even the slightest vulnerability. In comparison with the past, when users had to open an attachment to get the PC violated, now people can turn into victims of spyware simply by visiting a website. As regards the year 2006, 62% of total identified malware was made up by Trojan horses, 24% by worms and 13% by virus and other types of malware. Over the last year, together with the increase of WMF for “drive-by” downloads, a variant of the a spyware software has been used for the first time to carry out a “zero-day” attack, i.e. an attack taking place the very same day when the system vulnerability is detected. In 2007 more persuasive and more targeted social engineering techniques are expected to gain ground. Messages immediately recognizable as false – e.g. “check you current account number” – will make room for more equivocal attacks, i.e worms in disguise of “mail failure notice” messages. Moreover, hackers are expected to use habits of people of Internet. The computer used at work or at home could become infected by a virus owing to a visit to a porn or betting website, where a fingerboard logger or a spyware has been installed to transfer resalable data. There are also ransomware which might take user’s data as a “hostage” while asking for a ransom to get them released. Spam also is meant to increase. Over the last months of 2006 the spam volume consistently increased, especially due to the use of images which usually bypass most ant-spam filters. Moreover, due to ridiculously low prices required to spread great amounts of spam messages, IT criminals will frequently resort to this technique to spread their Trojan horses.

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