Malware Kits Most Prominent Cyber Threat in 2010: Trend Micro

Security Company Trend Micro in a report highlights that would-be online crooks managed in carrying out cyber-assaults much more maliciously and easily because of malware kits and pre-written software codes that attempted at capturing information. Evidently, malware kits, during 2010, spread in bulk via social-networking websites such as Twitter.

States the 2010 Threat Round-Up Report by Trend Micro, whilst malware kits have forever been used in executing online assaults from the underground, during 2010, their role became even more prominent within the overall attack scenario owing to its more widespread use. Prnewswire.com reported this on March 31, 2011.

Essentially, the report outlined that with malware kits, it was possible to execute cyber-attacks much faster and more effortlessly, as was evident from the massive increase in threats during 2010.

Furthermore, Trend Micro, in its report, discusses the Spamit operational crackdown during 2010, indicating that the action resulted in spam to decline during November-December 2010, when it's normally the period for high vacation spam.

And though worldwide spam levels dropped, the maximum spam was received in USA, with India following as Internet usage grew across this country and also formal communication here is mostly in English. Contrarily, the minimum volume of junk e-mails was received in Israel and Argentina.

Also, the greatest spam peak occurred in Europe that was often in Spanish-language, with the maximum being related to Internet gambling and casino because of relaxed gambling controls in the region. And Russia, where spam operations aren't still considered a crime, the country marked as the greatest producer of spam in Q4-2010.

Meanwhile, over 80% of the most-prevalent malicious programs, which accounted for the maximum contaminations during 2010, came in through the Web. Most malevolent URLs and hence users, who succumbed to malware contaminations, during 2010, were observed across China and USA. Russia too generated considerable amount of spam, which featured malevolent URLs.

Furthermore according to Trend Micro, the majority of 2010 junk e-mails were health and pharmaceutical themed. During 2010, spam mailers further utilized e-mail that camouflaged malware and phishing assaults, which struck well-known social-networking websites something that cyber-criminals find a fine breeding ground owing to their abundant users.

Related article: Malware Authors Turn More Insidious

» SPAMfighter News - 4/12/2011