In a 2009 report, MessageLabs Intelligence revealed that an average of 3,618 new Websites per day were identified as harboring malware and other potentially unwanted programs such as spyware and adware. This Symantec Hosted Services - MessageLabs white paper focuses on the emergence of covert information theft as a key tactic of malware propagators.
Most importantly, the paper highlights the crucial danger points for any business that doesn't defend itself against viruses which operate in the background.
WHITEPAPER
THE TANGLED WEB:
SILENT THREATS &
INVISIBLE ENEMIES
www.messagelabs.com info@messagelabs.comWHITEPAPER
The Silent WarIn the not so distant past, businesses used a simple technique to avoid computer viruses or malware: They cautioned their employees to "not-click" on dubious-looking email attachments. Those days are long gone. Today companies face network threats that are often unseen, narrowly targeted and much more difficult to detect.Anonymity, deceit and subterfuge are now well-established weapons in the arsenal of cyber-criminals. These criminals target organizations with a variety of covert malware, spam and scams that drain employee productivity, steal sensitive data and negatively impact the corporate brand.Techniques such as the use of rich media (flash and streaming content), open-source platforms, Web 2.0 collaboration tools, social-networking sites and highly available criminal "toolkits" are deployed to infiltrate corporate networks.One widely used tactic is the delivery of malware through Weblinks to compromised Websites embedded in email attachments. When these links are followed by the user, malware is installed to their system and their network security is compromised.This mode of entry is proving to be a more efficient (and ultimately more lucrative) way for criminals to infiltrate corporate networks and bypass traditional scanners. As users are being victimized by these Web-borne threats, they aren't aware that it is happening, usually because they simply visited a harmless-looking website. In a 2009 report, MessageLabs Intelligence revealed that an average of 3,618 new Websites per day were identified as harboring malware and other 1potentially unwanted programs such as spyware and adware. This Symantec Hosted Services - MessageLabs white paper focuses on the emergence of covert information theft as a key tactic of malware propagators. Most importantly, the paper highlights the crucial danger points for any business that doesn't defend itself against viruses which operate in the background.
SpywarePerhaps the best-known undercover threat is spyware, which first appeared in 2005. Spyware is software that infiltrates a computer's hard drive without the user's knowledge. Spyware usually gains access to a computer by camouflaging itself among other software (e.g. a free screen saver or a music file) which the user has agreed to download. Ironically, spyware is often concealed in downloadable software claimed to be "spyware-free" or "adware-free"-and even in many "anti-spyware" applications. Once installed, the spyware secretly tracks the user's Web-browsing and Website-visiting behavior, and then passes this information on to advertisers. The user's computer then finds itself deluged with pop-up advertisements related to their browsing behavior. All the while, the user remains oblivious to the fact that their machine has been infected.
2 www.messagelabs.com info@messagelabs.comWHITEPAPER
"Spyware continues to be both a security and a system-management nightmare," says IDC Security Analyst, Brian Burke. "Theft of confidential information, loss of productivity, consumption of large amounts of bandwidth, corruption of desktops, and a spike in the number of help-desk calls related to 2spyware are overwhelming many IT departments."
BotnetsA robot network, or "botnet," is a network of computers that are infected with a malicious program that lets cyber-criminals control the machines remotely without the users' knowledge. Typically, computers are "recruited" to botnets when users innocently click on an infected Web link or an email attachment containing a virus. Though nothing seems to happen, a malware program secretly downloads itself to the computer's hard drive. This enables the botnet controller or "herder"-often a "Botnets are a member of an international criminal gang-to take control of the computer 3 powerful tool whenever they please. for hackers. They Using sophisticated malware, botnet gangs can easily breach corporate defenses and compromise business-based computers. Affected companies see corporate can be used to bandwidth over utilized and their networks operating sluggishly. They also find send spam, harvest themselves helplessly involved in spamming and illegal activities that afflict data and conduct Internet users worldwide. Infected machines may fall prey to threats that leak confidential, business-c... [download for more]
