Security threat global trends
Microsoft Corp has released the seventh volume of the Microsoft Security Intelligence Report (SIRv7). The data is collected from around the globe through numerous mechanisms such as Microsoft’s Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT) which is installed on 450 million computers.
Microsoft’s Bing search engine also plays a role, having performed billions of Web page scans during the past six months. Windows Live OneCare, Windows Defender, Forefront Online Protection for Exchange and Forefront Client Security, and Windows Live Hotmail also collect data for the report.
Global Trends
Ten years after Melissa appeared and defined mass-mailing worms as a class of malicious threats, worm infections have resurged to become the second most prevalent threat for enterprises in the first half of 2009.
Worm infections in the enterprise rose by nearly 100% during the first half of 2009 over the preceding six months. According to SIRv7, the following were the top two worm families detected:
Conficker was the top worm threat detected for the enterprise, because its method of propagation works more effectively within a firewalled network environment. Conficker is not in the top 10 for consumers, because home computers are more likely to have automatic updating enabled. This further reiterates the need for enterprises to have a robust security update management program in place.
Taterf, with detections up 156% since the second half of 2008, targets massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). These attacks rely less on social engineering to spread, and more on access to unsecured file shares and removable storage volumes — both of which are often plentiful in the enterprise.
Taterf’s impressive growth underscores the need for organizations to develop guidelines for removable drives (such as thumb drives) and evaluate how connections are made to outside machines.
Scareware
Rogue security software remains a major threat; however, 20 percent fewer customers were affected by rogue infections during the past six months. Also known as “scareware,” rogue security software takes advantage of a customer’s desire to keep their computer protected.
Microsoft products and services removed malware from more than 13 million computers worldwide, down from 16.8 million in the second half of 2008.
Computer users are advised to use an anti-malware solution from a company they trust and to keep its threat definitions up to date.
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