McAfee Q4 Threat Report Identifies New Attacks on Mobile Devices; Malware Growth at All-Time High
08 Fevereiro 2011 - 11:00AM
Business Wire
McAfee, Inc. (NYSE:MFE) today released the McAfee Threats
Report: Fourth Quarter 2010, revealing a steady growth of threats
to mobile platforms. The number of pieces of new mobile malware in
2010 increased by 46 percent compared with 2009. The report also
uncovered 20 million new pieces of malware in 2010, equating to
nearly 55,000 new malware threats every day. Of the almost 55
million total pieces of malware McAfee Labs has identified, 36
percent was created in 2010. Concurrently, spam accounted for 80
percent of total email traffic in Q4 2010, the lowest point since
the first quarter of 2007.
“Our Q4 Threats Report shows that cybercriminals are keeping
tabs on what’s popular, and what will have the biggest impact from
the smallest effort,” said Vincent Weafer, senior vice president of
McAfee Labs. “In the past few quarters, malware trends have been
very similar in different geographies, but in the last quarter
we’ve seen a significant shift in various regions, showing that
cybercriminals are tapped in to trends worldwide. McAfee Labs also
sees the direct correlation between device popularity and
cybercriminal activity, a trend we expect to surge in 2011.”
Mobile Threats, Botnet Infections Increase
Threats to mobile platforms are not new. However, as more
consumers use mobile devices and tablets in their daily lives and
at work, cybercriminals have taken note. During the last several
years, McAfee Labs has seen a steady growth in the number of
threats to mobile devices. Some of the most interesting mobile
threats of Q4 2010 were SymbOS/Zitmo.A and Android/Geinimi.
SymbOS/Zitmo.A was a high-profile threat that struck early in the
quarter. The creators of the Zeus botnet repurposed an old version
of a commercial spyware package. Android/Geinimi, a Trojan inserted
into legitimate mobile applications and games for the Android
platform, was one of the most important threats of the quarter.
With the adoption of so many new mobile platforms, combined with
the lack of security awareness and mobile safeguards, McAfee Labs
expects cybercriminals to use botnet infections to target mobile
devices. In Q4 2010, Cutwail was dethroned as the global leader in
botnet activity, with Rustock the most prevalent in many parts of
the world, and Bobax closely trailing behind the two.
Malware on the Rise; Spam in a “Transition Period”
The onslaught of malware seems to have no end, and the
proliferation of both handled and IP-enabled devices’ affect on
this growth remains to be seen. The top malware threats in Q4 2010
were very different in various geographies, due in part to the
larger trend that threats now tend to match the types of users,
habits and events that are specific to a region. Favorites for
cybercriminals worldwide this quarter consisted of AutoRun malware
(Generic!atr), banking Trojans and downloaders (PWS or Generic.dx),
as well as web-based exploits (StartPage and Exploit-MS04-028).
Spam hitting its lowest levels in years can be attributed to a
“transition period,” with several botnets going dormant during a
time of year when spam volumes are usually on an upward path. In
Q4, McAfee Labs learned the Bredolab botnet had been closed along
with parts of the Zeus botnet. Around the Christmas holiday, spam
from the Rustock, Lethic, and Xarvester botnets all disappeared,
while the spam leaders this quarter were the Bobax and Grum
botnets.
More Devices Mean More Web Threats
As more users access the Internet from an ever-expanding pool of
devices—computer, tablet, smartphone or Internet TV—web-based
threats will continue to grow in size and sophistication. In Q4,
some of the most active threats included Zeus-Murofet, Conficker
and Koobface, and the number of potentially malicious domains grew
at a rapid pace. Phishing URLs in the form of the IRS, gift cards,
rewards accounts, and social networking accounts were also among
the most popular. McAfee Labs found that within the top 100 results
of the top daily search terms, 51 percent led to malicious sites,
and on average each of these poisoned results pages contained more
than five malicious links. McAfee Labs expects attacks using the
techniques of search-engine abuse and trend abuse to focus more
specifically on new types of devices in 2011.
Adobe Product Vulnerabilities are Top Distribution Method of
Choice for Cybercriminals
In 2009, McAfee Labs predicted that vulnerabilities in Adobe
product would become the clear choice of malware authors and
cybercriminals for distribution malware and compromising systems
and networks. This prediction has come true. Throughout 2010
malware developers have heavily exploited weaknesses in both Flash
and especially PDF technologies. McAfee Labs databases reveal that
malicious PDFs targeting Adobe Acrobat topped the number of unique
samples by a wide margin, making them the favorite target of
client-side exploitation. McAfee Labs is certain that the “Adobe”
trend will continue this year, as more mobile devices and
non-Microsoft operating systems support various Adobe
technologies.
Hacktivism Gains Traction
The main hacktivist actor in Q4 2010 was the “Anonymous”
activist group. Its members engaged in various cyberdemonstrations
against copyright protection groups early in the quarter and
against WikiLeaks censors and detractors later in the quarter. The
boundary between hacktivism and cyberwarfare continues to blur.
For a full copy of the McAfee Threats Report: Fourth Quarter
2010, please visit: http://www.mcafee.com.
About McAfee, Inc.
McAfee, headquartered in Santa Clara, California, is the world's
largest dedicated security technology company. McAfee delivers
proactive and proven solutions and services that help secure
systems, networks, and mobile devices around the world, allowing
users to safely connect to the Internet, and browse and shop the
Web more securely. Backed by its unrivaled Global Threat
Intelligence, McAfee creates innovative products that empower home
users, businesses, the public sector, and service providers by
enabling them to prove compliance with regulations, protect data,
prevent disruptions, identify vulnerabilities, and continuously
monitor and improve their security. McAfee secures your digital
world. http://www.mcafee.com
NOTE: McAfee is a registered trademark or trademark of McAfee,
Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.
Other marks may be claimed as the property of others. The product
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