2009’s Most Persistent Malware Threats

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Enterprises are raring to harness the benefits of the Internet’s connectivity and infrastructure for both core operations and support activities. The generally positive response toward moving into the cloud, the increase in the use of social networking platforms for business, and the continuous move toward a mobile and interconnected workforce gained momentum in 2009.

The risks of conducting business with the use of the Internet became readily apparent as well. According to reports, 18 percent of the respondents to the “Computer, Crime, and Security Survey” that reported security incidents in 2009 also experienced at least one targeted malware attack.

A separate study, the Ponemon/PGP report as reported by CNET News on the cost of a data breach due to criminal activity pegs loss to business at US$215 per stolen record. Remarkably, the “criminal activities” in this report now include data-stealing malware and botnets. In fact, more of these attacks have been reported in 2009 than ever before. A review of the TrendLabs Malware Blog entries in 2009 likewise calls attention to recurring themes in the security challenge for users and businesses alike. Cybercriminal organizations work hard to use old and new online platforms to trick even the more tech-savvy users into following a malicious link or into opening a malicious file. In the more insidious kinds of attack that will be discussed later (i.e., a network worm named DOWNAD), almost no user interaction is required for an attack to spread throughout a system of interconnected computers.

In this report, TrendLabs, Trend Micro’s research lab, discusses 2009’s most persistent threats and presents why users need to be more engaged in keeping their systems secure than ever before. These five most recurring and ever-present threats effectively challenge even the more tech-savvy businesses who encounter them either through lack of network security or of education and appreciation of the severity of threats on the part of employees. At the end of each discussion, a list of security dos are recommended for large enterprises and smaller businesses alike.

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