Secure Computing Releases Q3 Internet Threats Report and Predictions for 2009
27 Oktober 2008 - 2:00PM
Marketwired
Secure Computing Corporation (NASDAQ: SCUR), a leading enterprise
gateway security company, today published the Q3, 2008 Internet
Threats Report containing data and analysis covering both email and
Web-based threats. The report was compiled by the Secure Computing
research teams and based on the company's TrustedSource Global
Reputation System with its unique and unparalleled view of
worldwide Internet traffic. Among the report's findings, Q3 saw the
emergence of new malware targeting users of the popular social
networking sites MySpace and Facebook as well as panic-inducing
"bank failure spam" intending to capitalize on the current
financial crisis. "Scareware" programs also spread rapidly, while
election-related spam soared, with Senator Obama easily defeating
his opponent in terms of spam popularity. More detailed information
follows, and the entire report can be accessed at
http://www.securecomputing.com/pdf/SCC-InternetThrtRprt-Oct08.pdf
Q3 Spam Trends Statistics & Analysis
Spam volume returned to record highs in Q3 with fairly steady
monthly increases throughout the summer. The acquisition of
innocent machines via email and Web-based infections continued in
Q3, with over 5,000 new zombies created every hour. The United
States continued its role as the largest originator of spam
messages, nearly doubling its worldwide share from 16.6% in Q2,
2008 to 32.1% in Q3. The Q3 report further discusses the following
topics in detail:
-- Q3 saw the emergence of "Breaking News" spam as a new vehicle that
enticed readers to click for breaking news flashes with interesting and
provocative headlines.
-- Misguided "Delivery Status Notifications" made a strong resurgence
onto the "Most Common Spam" list.
-- Spammers continue to leverage election topics to lure users. After the
second presidential debate on October 7th, Obama gained popularity among
spammers, and over 80% of election-related spam currently bears his name.
-- Secure Computing's TrustedSource Labs estimates the number of
worldwide U.S. election-related spam email to be approximately 100 million
messages per day.
Malware Statistics and Analysis
-- The United States and China dominate the world in the number of hosted
Websites which distribute malware, with nearly 60% of all malware-infected
URLs served from these two countries. In terms of phishing attacks, the
United States and the Netherlands host nearly 60% of all URLs used.
-- Phishing attacks spiked significantly following the announcements of
various bank failures in late September. While there was no strong trend
towards using any one specific bank or bank failure, overall increases in
phishing activity in the days following each major announcement were
recorded.
-- Previously, successful SQL injection attacks on legitimate Websites
included links directing users to one of a few dozen or so malicious sites.
This summer, however, more attacks were launched where each infected page
included a link to a unique and individualized malicious site (a 1-to-1
infection/attack ratio).
-- A large increase in the number of heavily promoted phony
malware/spyware removers or "scareware" occurred at the end of the quarter.
Secure research expects this to be an increasing problem that will rapidly
evolve to a greater level of sophistication.
Predictions Moving Forward
Secure Computing Research offered the following predictions for
the rest of the year and into 2009:
-- During the '06 holiday season, mail volumes reached a record 100
billion daily messages. As we enter the '08 season, we're over 200 billion
messages. Secure predicts a 25% increase in Q4, and new records for mail
and spam volumes.
-- As the global financial crisis continues, criminals will take
advantage of the panic and fear among consumers and increase their targeted
phishing attacks substantially.
-- With upcoming holiday spam increases combined with the mounting use of
blended threats, spammers will increasingly use the lure of free coupons
and gift cards.
-- Today, most malware attacks are financially motivated and target end-
users. In the coming year, we believe there is a greater likelihood of
attacks meant to manipulate public opinion in order to exploit the stock
market.
-- Going into 2009 and beyond, politically motivated attacks will become
more widespread, such as attacks on national cyber infrastructure by
hackers. Denial-of-Service and Website compromise attacks against key
government and economic cyber resources of Estonia and Georgia were
foreshadowing things to come.
-- In 2009, Web attack toolkits will add new target platforms to their
arsenal of "supported" targets. The iPhone is one such candidate, as are
"Web 2.0" social platforms such as Facebook and MySpace. As the popularity
of these platforms increase, the likelihood of them being targeted rises as
well.
-- By the end of 2009, about half of all Web-borne malware will likely be
hosted on compromised legitimate Websites as it becomes increasingly
difficult for criminals to purchase malware hosting services from companies
that once looked the other way.
Over the course of Q3 the TrustedSource reputation system was
able to identify over 600 new Websites that have been deployed and
tagged with a malicious reputation prior to serving any malicious
content. Identifying these Websites proactively through the use of
traffic analysis and examination of historical connections to
criminal individuals or networks is now essential as they are
increasingly used to deploy zero-day/zero-hour malware code that is
not detected by the traditional signature-based, anti-malware
products.
Secure Computing researchers recommend that both enterprises and
consumers assure their software and patches are up-to-date, and
that they implement a multi-layered approach to preemptively detect
and block attacks. Appliances utilizing Secure Computing's advanced
TrustedSource global reputation system and Secure Web Anti-Malware
detection technology put organizations a giant step ahead of others
both in protecting against existing threats, and new malware or
variants.
The Q3 Internet Threats Report is available for download at:
http://www.securecomputing.com/pdf/SCC-InternetThrtRprt-Oct08.pdf.
For more information about TrustedSource, Secure Web and other
Secure Computing technologies, products and solutions, please visit
www.securecomputing.com.
About Secure Computing Corporation
Secure Computing Corporation (NASDAQ: SCUR), a leading provider
of enterprise gateway security, delivers a comprehensive set of
solutions that help customers protect their critical Web, email and
network assets. Over half the Fortune 50 and Fortune 500 are part
of our more than 22,000 global customers, supported by a worldwide
network of more than 2,000 partners. The company is headquartered
in San Jose, Calif., and has offices worldwide. For more
information, see http://www.securecomputing.com.
All product names and trademarks are the property of their
respective firms.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements which
are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned
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Ally Zwahlen Secure Computing Corporation 925-288-4175 Email
Contact Paula Dunne Contos Dunne Communications LLC 408-776-1400;
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