Trojans hit computer users
Eighty percent of malware distributed worldwide consisted of Trojans according to the E-Threats Landscape Report, the first in a series of security threat studies published by BitDefender Lab. This E-Threats Landscape Report provides an overview of the security threats landscape from January to June 2008.
BitDefender analysed and examined the menaces of the first half of 2008, focusing on software vulnerabilities and exploits, different types of malware, as well as countermeasures, cyber crime prevention and law enforcement.
The report concentrates mainly on the first half of 2008, but it also contains facts, data and trends concerning the previously investigated periods, as well as several predictions related to the last half of 2008.
Other highlights of the report include:
∙ 1/3 of global malware exploited OS’s and applications’ vulnerabilities;
∙ Text-based spam comprised 70% of total unsolicited e-mails;
∙ Image spam continued to decline in the first half of 2008;
∙ Drugs represented the most advocated content via e-mail spam;
∙ 50% of phishing attempts forged identification elements pertaining to US financial organisations;
∙ Phishers targeted victims from EU states.
The report reveals that malware creators concentrated on exploiting system vulnerabilities via threats mimicking legitimate applications in the first half of 2008.
"In 2008, BitDefender is finding that malware continues to revolve around profit, mainly financial," says Sorin Dudea, head of BitDefender’s Anti-malware Research Lab. "To ensure gains, cybercriminals need a way to compromise a large number of systems, to deploy as many bots, adware and spyware as possible, with less or no cost at all. The most difficult task is not the malware’s dissemination, but the system’s infiltration and exposure to other threats. This explains the Trojans’ heavy mass production in the last six months."
In terms of spam media and techniques, the most notable trend that BitDefender’s security analysts tracked in the first half of 2008 was the revival of text-based spam, which reached 70%, compared to 20% during the same period in 2007. Image spam continued its decline in the first half of 2008, ending at 3% in June 2008, compared to 60% in June 2007.
"BitDefender has found that plain text continues to be the most prolific medium for e-mail spam distribution, especially due to its simplicity, reduced size and extreme versatility," says Vlad Valceanu, head of BitDefender Anti-Spam Research Lab.
Phishing trends for the first half of 2008 indicated a variation and growth of spoofed banks and targeted clients. Primarily, forged elements belonged to US financial organisations, while the possible victims are now native English speakers who reside in the USA, UK or Canada. Phishing e-mails continued to be negative, such as account blocking or expiration and account details update for security reasons.
"Spammers and phishers continued to improve their skills in replicating and forging legitimate message characteristics," says Valceanu. "However, the simple text e-mails proved their efficiency as well, rounding up the total figure of ID theft victims to 50 000 each month."
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