Stuxnet May Usher In New Specialized Malware Infections: Symantec

According to Symantec the security company, as the Stuxnet worm grows more-and-more in its sinister acts, there may appear further specialized contaminations from malicious software during the next year (2011).

Stated the company, the infamous Stuxnet was a unique piece of malware that proliferated contaminations not just on servers and PCs, however, also on appliances and systems of infrastructures. V3.co.uk reported this on November 30, 2010.

Emphasizes Symantec, as per several reports, the worm may shortly attack Britain's infrastructures following its attack on the uranium enrichment facilities in Iran during 2010, although specialists are doubtful about such an assault.

Remarks Daren Lewis security analyst at Symantec, fresh malicious programs may continue from where Stuxnet terminates its activity. Writing in his company's blog, Lewis states that the Stuxnet 'specialized' program created for attacking physical infrastructures is likely to remain during 2011 given that it yields massive amounts of revenue in favor of cyber-criminals and that too with less chances of the latter getting prosecuted. V3.co.uk reported this.

Moreover, according to the company, Twitter and Facebook the social-networking websites as well as corporate blogs and websites meant for the public, supply enormous data based on which hackers can design more advanced and specialized scams through which more valuable details can be acquired.

Elsewhere Lewis stated that during 2011, crime syndicates would make the above research more automatic towards designing innumerable persuasive and influential assaults, which seemed especially newsworthy, relevant and exciting to those targeted and victimized. Esecurityplanet.com published this on December 2, 2010.

Worryingly Symantec highlights that there will be more of zero-day security flaws as highly targeted attacks become more common and influential.

Elaborating on this forecast, the security company says that during this year (2010), Hydraq a.k.a Aurora represented an instance of highly targeted attacks intended for invading particular enterprises alternatively a computer system with special features through the exploitation of earlier unknown security flaws. And though such flaws have been abused since several years, however, with an increase in these exceedingly personalized attacks during 2010, attackers hope to see more of zero-day flaws in 2011 compared to 2010, Symantec notes.

Related article: Stuxnet malware Signed With JMicron Certificate

» SPAMfighter News - 12/15/2010