The Web is now the primary conduit of attack activity, as opposed to network attacks and online users are at the increasing risk of being infected by just simply visiting everyday Web says Symantec.
According to its latest Internet Security Threat Report (ISTR), Volume XIII, the security company noted that in the past, users had to visit intentionally malicious sites or click on malicious email attachments to become a victim of a security threat. However, today, hackers are compromising legitimate Web sites and using them as a distribution medium to attack home and enterprise computers.
Symantec also noted that attackers are particularly targeting sites that are likely to be trusted by end users, such as social networking sites.
“Avoiding the dark alleys of the Internet was sufficient advice in years past,” said Stephen Trilling, vice president, Symantec Security Technology and Response.
“Today's criminal is focused on compromising legitimate Web sites to launch attacks on end-users, which underscores the importance of maintaining a strong security posture no matter where you go and what you do on the Internet.”
The report also revealed that attackers are leveraging site-specific vulnerabilities that can then be used as a means for launching other attacks. During the last six months of 2007, there were 11,253 site specific cross-site scripting vulnerabilities reported on the Internet; these represent vulnerabilities in individual Web sites. However, only 473 (about 4 %) of them had been patched by the administrator of the affected Web site during the same period, representing an enormous window of opportunity for hackers looking to launch attacks.
Phishing also continues to be a problem. In the last six months of 2007, Symantec observed 87,963 phishing hosts – computers that can host one or more phishing Web sites. This is an increase of 167 % from the first half of 2007. 80% of brands targeted by phishing attacks during the study period were in the financial sector.
Attackers are today seeking confidential end-user information that can be fraudulently used for financial gain and are less focused on the computer or device containing the information. In the last six months of 2007, 68 % of the most prevalent malicious threats reported to Symantec attempt to compromise confidential information.
Finally, attackers are leveraging a maturing underground economy to buy, sell and trade stolen information. This economy is now characterized by a number of traits common in traditional economies. For example, market forces of supply and demand have a direct impact on pricing. Credit card information, which has become plentiful in this environment, accounted for 13 % of all advertised goods—down from 22 % in the previous period and sold for as low as .40.
The price of a credit card in this underground market is determined by factors such as the location of the issuing bank. Credit cards from the European Union, for example, cost more than those from the United States; this is most likely due to the smaller supply of cards circulating in the E.U which makes the card more valuable to a criminal. Bank account credentials have become the most frequently advertised item making up 22% of all goods and selling for as little as 10 dollars. |
