Category: Trends

Formed in 2005 to help address the problem of compromised computers – sometimes referred to as bots, or drones – connected to the internet, AISI collects data from various sources on devices exhibiting odd bot-like behaviour on Australian IP addresses.

The detailed statistics on malware infections show that on average during this financial year about 16,500 malware reports have been provided to AISI participants each day – representing what the authority says is a “significant level of malware” affecting Australians.

“Once infected with malware, a user’s personal identity information can be stolen and their infected computing device used to harm and infect other internet users,” said Richard Bean, the authority’s deputy chairman. “Just as the internet increasingly provides rapid access to information about news, events and the activities of friends and family, it should also enable Australians to quickly get information about online risks and threats such as malware infections.”

The authority said the most prevalent infection type currently being reported are numerous variants of Zeus, which is primarily used for banking fraud, and, among other things, can intercept and modify an infected user’s online banking transactions.

Link: http://www.smh.com.au/it-pro/security-it/malware-fight-goes-public-on-the-web-20130522-2k036.html

The lobby group is concerned that the cost to the wider economy could be much greater, as small businesses refuse to trade online because they believe the security framework does not give them adequate protection.

Mike Cherry, FSB chairman, said: “Cyber crime poses a growing threat for small firms and it isn’t something that should be ignored. “While we want to see clear action from the Government and the wider public sector, there are clear actions that businesses can take to help themselves.”

The FSB issued 10 tips to help businesses protect themselves, including a combination of standard security protection steps (e.g. putting up a firewall and using antivirus and anti-spam software); carrying out regular security updates on all software and devices; and ensuring there is a resilient IT system and email password policy. The Government has urged small companies to spend more on security to address the rise in cyber crime and meet the terms of a tough EU directive.

Link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/yourbusiness/10069374/Cyber-crime-costs-small-companies-800m-a-year.html

“Although we don’t have complete data for all the aforementioned locations, we can see that 30 percent to 40 percent of computers in some of these locations do not have up-to-date real-time anti-virus software installed, compared to the worldwide average of 24 percent,” Rains wrote.

More than 8 million computers worldwide are infected with Sality, a virus that infects files with certain extensions such as “.scr” and “.exe” and can also shut down the processes and services of security software, he wrote.

To infect computers, Sality has used a vulnerability that was also targeted by Stuxnet, the malware designed to wreck Siemens equipment used by Iran in its nuclear fuel refinement program.

Link: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9239326/In_a_sea_of_malware_viruses_make_a_small_comeback?source=CTWNLE_nlt_dailyam_2013-05-17

Given that situation, it’s no surprise that China, the United States and Germany — which all sport a relatively large Internet infrastructure — are also tops for DDoS attack origin. But Prolexic’s report said it’s odd that Iran, which has a very small Internet architecture by comparison, should be the source of so many attacks.

As DDoS attack sizes increase, so do fears of an Armageddon scenario, in which the attack not only disrupts a targeted site, but every site or service provider in between. According to Prolexic’s report, the largest single attack it’s mitigated to date occurred in March, when an “enterprise customer” was hit with an attack that peaked at 130 Gbps. While that wasn’t equal to the 300 Gbps attack experienced by Spamhaus, it still represents well more than most businesses can handle, unless they work with their service provider or third parties to build a better DDoS mitigation defense.

“There are a number of DDoS mitigation technologies out there, and we see organizations that are deploying the technologies in their own infrastructure and in their own environments,” as well as working with service providers, said Chris Novak, managing principal of the RISK Team at Verizon Enterprise Solutions, speaking recently by phone.

Link: http://www.informationweek.com/security/attacks/ddos-attack-bandwidth-jumps-718/240153084?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_security

Online hackers are leaving surprising clues for cyber sleuths based on the time of their attacks — a trail suggesting the computer criminals are punching a clock for shift work. Chinese hackers, for instance, are on a Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule, Beijing time, indicating they are likely…

Conventional file infector malware was a major issue in the region, which Trend takes to suggest that patching is poor, operating systems run in insecure states and indicative of a general complacency among consumers about the risks of poor software behaviour.

This includes gangs that develop their own crimeware kits, with 2012’s ‘PiceBot’ a good example of banking malware that heralds a new level of sophistication for homegrown malware.

Protection for Industrial Control Systems (ICS) is also a worry with many Internet-facing systems open to attack; Trend itself recorded 39 attacks on infrastructure systems in the geography in a single month during 2012, 12 of which it classified as automated, repeated and targeted.

Money, expertise, and a lack of cyber-awareness remains an issue although Trend did find that many countries were now being positively galvanised by the emerging global culture in government cyber-defence.

“On the whole, political leaders are aware of the dangers of cybercrime and hacking but efforts are often restricted by the lack of resources dedicated to building cybersecurity capacity and shortage of specialized knowledge and expertise to implement technical policies,” said Trend’s researchers.

Link: http://news.techworld.com/security/3445748/cybercrime-booming-in-latin-america-caribbean-trend-finds/