Most of the Mass Distributed Malware in Q3 2012 Were Banking Trojans, Study Finds

Every once in a while we like to take a look at the quarterly reports issued by security companies to see how the threat landscape evolves. This time we’ll analyze the figures and key findings of Solutionary Security Engineering Research Team’s (SERT) Q3 2012 Quarterly Research Report.

The figures from the study reveal that malware developers are getting better and better at hiding their creations from antivirus software. It turns out that 60% of malicious elements managed to slip past security products.

“Cybercriminals constantly evolve malware and attack techniques in order to evade security and gain the most profit from their targets," Rob Krauss, Director of SERT, explained.

“Sixty percent of the mass-distributed malware we examined can easily slip past anti-virus software and when that doesn't work, cybercriminals fool email recipients with phishing emails that inject malware into networks and computers at unprecedented rates.”

The report also shows that brands such as the Better Business Bureau and delivery companies such as UPS are still the most utilized by cybercriminals to mask their malicious campaigns.

As always, most pieces of malware are distributed in mass (92%), the rest of it being utilized in cleverly planned attacks that target specific organizations.

The targets of the threats described in Solutionary’s report aren’t just regular users or small businesses, but also government agencies and enterprises. Unfortunately, as Krauss highlights, many organizations are still unable to defend themselves against sophisticated attacks.

“Most organizations simply don't have the internal resources needed to keep pace with modern malware attacks. To stay ahead of the threats, protect their brands and defend against breaches they need products, solutions and services that are focused purely on reducing security risks,” the director said.

The complete SERT Q3 2012 Quarterly Research Report is available here.