cybercriminal

Apple's iOS and Android are new favorite malware victims

The online world is under siege. Computers, laptops, and mobile devices are increasingly being attacked by worms, viruses, botnets, Trojans, spam, and more.

According to a new report by McAfee (PDF), Malware is multiplying at a faster pace now than any other time in the last four years. There has been a 1.5 million increase in malware over last quarter, along with growth of newer threats, including "ransomware" attacks, thumb drive corrupters, and botnets.

While Windows PCs remain the hardest hit, there's a growing trend of attacks on Apple's Mac devices and Android smartphones.

"… Read more

Notorious Bredolab virus creator is sentenced to prison

The man who elaborated and then spread the Bredolab virus, which infected roughly 30 million computers worldwide, was sentenced to four years in prison by an Armenian district court yesterday, according to Wired.

Georgy Avanesov, a 27-year-old Russian citizen of Armenian descent, was first nabbed in 2010 after Dutch authorities took down a large Bredolab network made up of about 140 different infected computer servers. Shortly after this seizure, global spam levels fell by 12 percent.

Avanesov confessed that he developed the Bredolab malware in 2009 and made it available to others via computer servers in Holland and France, according … Read more

Spam continues to dip but malware marches merrily on

Spam may be down, but cybercriminals are keeping busy launching more sophisticated attacks (PDF), according to McAfee's latest Threats Report.

Looking at 2011's final quarter, McAfee found that spam hit its lowest level in years, especially across popular targets such as the U.K., Brazil, Argentina, and South Korea. But the U.S. and Germany saw their rates inch up slightly.

And though spam levels have declined overall, junk mail is still a clear danger because of the increase in spearphishing, or more targeted attacks. In years past, spammers sent their payloads to a slew of random addresses, … Read more

E-mail viruses most likely to appear in the morning

Eight in the morning is a good time to grab some coffee, but not to check your e-mail.

The number of viruses sent out each day peaks between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. EST, according to the Global Security Report released by security research firm Trustwave this week.

"The number of executables and viruses sent in the early morning hours increased," reads the report. "The spike is likely an attempt to catch people as they check e-mails at the beginning of the day."

Using real-world data collected in 2011 from more than 300 incident … Read more

Heidi Klum the 'most dangerous' celeb on the Net

Move over, Cameron Diaz, there's a new leader in the race to be the "world's most dangerous celebrity."

Former Victoria's Secret model and current host of "Project Runway," Heidi Klum is the Internet's "most dangerous celebrity," security firm McAfee announced today. According to McAfee, when people type Klum-related queries into a search engine, nearly 10 percent of the results are "malicious."

"Fans searching for 'Heidi Klum and downloads,' 'Heidi Klum and 'free' downloads,' 'Heidi Klum and screensavers,' 'Heidi Klum and hot pictures' and 'Heidi Klum and videos' … Read more

More cyberattacks hitting social networks

Cybercriminals are increasingly targeting social networks, prompting people to take more steps to protect their online privacy, according to a new survey from security company Webroot.

A survey of nearly 4,000 social-network users in the U.S., U.K., and Australia found that the number of people hit by Koobface and other social-networking malware reached 18 percent this year, compared with 13 percent last year and 8 percent in 2009.

In the United Kingdom specifically, the number of social networks hit by attacks climbed to 15 percent this year, up from 12 percent last year and 6 percent the … Read more

Android malware masquerading as Google+ app

A new flavor of Android malware is disguising itself as a Google+ app in an attempt to capture instant messages, GPS, location, call logs, and other sensitive data.

Uncovered by the team at Trend Micro, the new malware known as ANDROIDOS_NICKISPY.C can also automatically answer and record phone calls. To capture data, the app loads at boot-up and runs certain services that can monitor messages, phone calls, and the user's location, thereby stealing e-mail and other content.

Detailing its findings in a blog Friday, Trend Micro said it discovered that the malicious app tries to trick people by installing itself under the name Google++.

But instead of providing access to Google's new social network, the app sends its stolen user data to a remote site where presumably cybercriminals can grab it. Unlike some malware in the past that masqueraded as legitimate apps through Google's Android Market, this particular one must be downloaded by an unsuspecting user from a malicious Web site and then manually installed.

And even if installed, the app can be uninstalled from an Android device by selecting Settings > Application > Manage applications, choosing Google++ and then clicking Uninstall, according to Trend Micro.

Trend Micro gives the app a low-risk rating, but it's still something that Android owners should be sure to avoid.

Android users concerned about security can learn how to better protect themselves through Trend Micro's online guide "5 Simple Steps to Secure Your Android-Based Smartphones."… Read more

Companies fear cybercrime more than insider threats

External attacks from cybercriminals will soon pose a greater risk to the corporate world than insider threats, according to the results of a Cyber-Ark survey (PDF) released yesterday.

Polling more than 1,400 IT staffers and top-level executives around the world, Cyber-Ark Software's fifth annual "Trust, Security and Passwords" report tried to get a sense of the security dangers that concern the corporate world for now and in the near future. The survey found that 57 percent of the executives believe that over the next one to three years, cybercriminals will present more of a security risk … Read more

Surge in malware marks start of year

The first three months of the year have so far witnessed a rise in malware and some notable cyberattacks, according to a report released today by Panda Security.

Tracking a big jump in malware (PDF), Panda Security has uncovered on average around 73,000 new types of threats being released every day. That's a 26 percent increase during this year's first quarter compared with the same period in 2010.

Among the various flavors of malware, Trojan horses have accounted for around 70 percent of all threats so far this year. That points to Trojans as a tool favored … Read more