Sophos released its Security Threat Report 2013, a detailed and interactive assessment of what’s happened in IT security for 2012 and what’s expected for 2013.
2012 was a year of new platforms and modern malware—what was once a homogeneous world of Windows systems, is now a landscape made up of diverse platforms. Modern malware is taking advantage of these trends, creating new challenges for IT security professionals.
The increasing mobility of data in corporate environments has forced IT staff to become even more agile. 2012 was also a retro year driven by resurgence in traditional malware attacks, specifically malware distributed via the web. For example, more than 80 percent of attacks were redirects, the majority of which were from legitimate websites that were hacked.
Unprotected computers are vulnerable to different kinds of malware attack. Exposure to the majority, but not all, comes from simply clicking on links in emails or browsing web pages that happen to be carrying malicious code.
Although some websites are created with the intention of infecting visitors, legitimate websites continue to be a popular target for cybercriminals, as once they are compromised, they will infect completely unsuspecting internet users.
While a large proportion of cybercrime continues to be opportunistic, Sophos believes that, in 2013, increased availability of malware testing platforms — some even providing criminals with money back guarantees – will make it more likely for malware to slip through traditional business security systems. As a result, we can expect to see an increase in the number of incidents where attackers have gained and sustained surreptitious access to corporate networks.
