14 DAY TRIAL // Panda Labs issued their third quarter report in which they highlight the increase of malware, the activity of the infamous Anonymous hacktivists and other interesting security related issues.
The paper shows that while they keep making headlines, Anonymous suffered a blow with 15 alleged members of the organization being apprehended in Italy. Their activity in the US is also outlined, the hacking of a US Department of Defense contractor and the leaking of NATO documents being the most significant attacks that took place since July.
Cybercrime in general also took a blow as some crooks responsible for million dollar operations were put behind bars. On the downside, events like the death of Amy Winehouse gave tricksters new ideas for social engineering plots.
The figures in the report reveal that the most new malware samples detected by the their researchers were actually Trojans (76%), followed by Viruses (12%) and Worms (6%). More specifically, Generic Trojans were identified as being the most common, the next positions being occupied by CI.A Trojans and Generic Malware.
The countries that suffered the most from malware infections turn out to be China, Taiwan, Turkey, Russia and Poland. The least affected were Switzerland, the UK and Sweden.
The numbers show an increase in malicious elements that target Mac computers and smartphones, Android, one of the most popular platforms, witnessing the wrath of Zitmo (the mobile variant of ZeuS).
Social networks are also mentioned in the report, the launch of Google+ giving cyber masterminds a lot of new angles to launch their malicious campaigns.
“We live in an increasingly interconnected world where Internet use and social networking (Facebook, Twitter, etc) is no longer restricted to your home or office computer; mobile devices offer multiple options to stay connected to your digital world,” states the report.
“This not only benefits users, but also opens a window of opportunity for cyber-criminals who, as you have seen, don’t miss any chance to profit from their creations. As cyber-crime becomes an increasingly organized, professional activity, criminals are always looking for new ways to optimize their work, which mainly consists of stealing user data.”