14 DAY TRIAL // Since 2011 is nearly over, security solutions providers are coming forward with predictions about the year to come. Panda Security is one of the companies that will enlighten us with some interesting insight on what’s about to happen.
First, it’s expected that the rise of social engineering techniques that make good use of the popularity of social media websites will not stop here, the Olympics and the next US Presidential elections being a great opportunity for crooks to test their skills and launch targeted campaigns.
Malware, more specifically Trojans, are also bound to record an increase in numbers since they’re the favorite weapon for cybercriminals, the numbers revealing that three out of four malware strains created in the past year were Trojans.
Cyberwar and cyberespionage are another threat in 2012. Worldwide there have been countless attempts this year to steal highly classified information and these attempts will probably not stop too soon, especially in the era where information equals power.
Malware that targets Mac devices has been rare so far, but since the number of individuals and companies that prefer Apple products continues to increase, we’ll surely see some new variants in the year 2012.
We’ve recently seen how mobile Trojans that seamlessly send SMSs to premium rate numbers are earning loads of money for their masters and that’s precisely why this trend will surely continue to record an increase.
While large companies, especially financial institutions tend to be more secured, the small and medium ones are still in many cases and easy target for cyberattacks. Of course, this doesn’t mean that major organizations are off the hook. Hackers may not target them, but that doesn’t prevent them from targeting their customers.
The much awaited release of Windows 8 will surely have an impact on hackers who will look at it as a new challenge in which they can test their skills and create innovative pieces of malware.