Malware criminal strategy exposed
Although many business and home users trust that the antivirus and security systems they have installed are reliable the reality may be considerably different.
This was the message conveyed by Dr. James Lyne, a long term strategy executive at online security provider Sophos, during a recent discussion regarding the growth of malicious software in recent years.
Many malware writers globally are more organised and creative than the antivirus firms which exist to combat their programming said Lyne. As a result, various security processes being used today to protect sensitive information are outdated and unable to address new threats.
“Unfortunately the technique which had been used over the past twenty years to protect people is rapidly disintegrating. Today we’re dealing with a hugely evolved threat,” said Lyne.
Commercial motive
According to Lyne the production of malware has quickly become more commercial. The focus has now turned towards the pursuit for personal information and intellectual property.
“The acquisition of one thousand email addresses is enough to pay for an entire spam campaign. Some spammers will even steal sensitive intellectual information and hold businesses to ransom,” added Lyne.
The face of spam and malware attacks has changed from competitive heckling between a lone hacker and an antivirus company to one which is purely driven by profit motive says Lyne.
“Malware used to be cool and fun, then about five or six years ago things got serious. In the last nine months the bad guys have significantly changed their approach and motives.”
Malware stock market
As a result of this shift in attitude Lyne argues that the malware domain is now arguably larger than the drug trade, adding that it is not unheard of for the major culprits to make up to one hundred thousand dollars each day.
This, coupled with the difficulty associated with catching and convicting malware criminals, has made it a highly lucrative sector for syndicates and organised gangs globally.
The recent boost in malware has even resulted in a ‘stock market’, in which illegal groups sell off packets of sensitive information, personal details and program vulnerabilities according to current trends and demand.
“Increased commercial interest has driven intelligence – malware is no longer simple,” said Lyne, who added that “70% of malware can now be found on legitimate websites, in fact porn sites are in many ways doing a better job of website security than other portals.”
Social media
Malware writers also have their ears close to the ground with regards to social networking and exploit the naivety of most internet users for their own benefit.
“The bad guys are better at using social media than the good guys,” commented Lyne, who added that on the day actor Patrick Swayze died there were three infected malware “hovering above CNN in the international Google rankings.”
Based on Lyne’s explanation the online world is often a more threatening one than some may expect.
Loading ...