International cyber spying will pose the biggest security threat in 2008

(03/12/2007)

According to McAfee's annual cyber security study, the rise in international cyber spying will pose the single biggest security threat in 2008. Other major trends include an increasing threat to online services such as banking, and the emergence of a complex and sophisticated market for malware.

The annual McAfee® Virtual Criminology Report examines emerging global cyber security trends, with input from NATO, the FBI, SOCA and experts from leading groups and universities. The report finds the following conclusions:
· Governments and allied groups are using the Internet for cyber spying and cyberattacks
· Targets include critical national infrastructure network systems such as electricity, air traffic control, financial markets and government computer networks
· 120 countries are now using the Internet for Web espionage operations
· Many cyber attacks originate from China, and the Chinese have publicly stated that they are pursuing activities in cyber-espionage
· Cyber assaults have become more sophisticated in their nature, designed to specifically slip under the radar of government cyber defences
· Attacks have progressed from initial curiosity probes to well-funded and well organised operations for political, military, economic and technical espionage

According to NATO insiders, many governments are still unaware of the threats facing them from Web espionage and that some governments are leaving themselves open to cyber attack. These insiders believe the attack on Estonia, which disrupted government, news and bank servers for several weeks, is just the tip of the iceberg in cyber warfare: “Traditional protective measures were not enough to protect against the attacks on Estonia’s critical national infrastructure. Botnets unsurprisingly were used but the complexity and coordination seen was new. There were a series of attacks with careful timing using different techniques and specific targets. The attackers stopped deliberately rather than being shut down.”

“Cybercrime is now a global issue,” said Jeff Green, senior vice president of McAfee Avert Labs and product development. “It has evolved significantly and is no longer just a threat to industry and individuals but increasingly to national security. We’re seeing emerging threats from increasingly sophisticated groups attacking organisations around the world. Technology is only part of the solution, and over the next five years we will start to see international governments take action.”

Increasingly sophisticated threats to personal data and online services
· Genetically modified ‘super’ threats: There is a new level of complexity in malware not seen before. These ‘super strength’ threats are more resilient, are modified over and over again like recombinant DNA, and contain highly sophisticated functionality such as encryption draw. Nuwar (‘Storm Worm’) was the first example, and experts say there will be more examples in 2008.
· New technology, new threats - vishing and phreaking: A new target for cybercriminals is Voice over IP (Internet Protocol) software. There have been several high profile ‘vishing’ (phishing via VoIP) attacks and ‘phreaking’ (hacking into telephone networks to make long distance phone calls). In Japan, 50% of all data breaches have been via peer-to-peer software. Cybercriminals will look for ways to exploit the popularity of applications on social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook.
· A run on banks: Experts believe a sustained cyberattack on banks could severely damage public trust in online banking and put the brakes on e-commerce. Critics believe the efforts to address online banking security will not be effective enough or fast enough.

A complex and sophisticated market for the tools of cybercrime
· Cybercriminals offer customer service: This underground economy already includes specialised auction sites, product advertising and even support services, but now competition is so fierce that ‘customer service’ has become a specific selling point.
· Laws of supply and demand apply: The cost of renting a platform for spamming has dropped, and criminals can now buy custom-written Trojans built to steal credit card data.
· ‘White market’ fuelling thriving black market: The ‘white market’ which exists to buy and sell software flaws (back door vulnerabilities with no available patch to fix them) is fuelling a virtual arms trade in potentially significant security threats. Software flaws can fetch big money - up to $75,000 and experts believe that while this white market exists there is an increasing danger of flaws falling into the hands of cybercriminals.

Related topics:  Hacking and intrusion prevention 

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