In a recent report released by Trend Micro, Cyber criminals have amplified their focus in targeting individuals and organizations to steal personal and financial information.
Among the examples of these increasingly focused attacks were the 142 million threats which were blocked from infecting small businesses as of the second quarter of 2012.
“The reason why criminals are focusing their attacks on stealing personal data is simple. It’s the sheer volume of people working from multiple devices that leaves them vulnerable to attacks,” said Rik Ferguson, director of security research and communication, Trend Micro.
Notable trends in Q2 2012:
- 25,000 Android malware apps have been identified as of the second quarter of 2012, an increase of 317% over the number of samples found in the first quarter of 2012, which is compounded against the fact that Trend Micro has seen only 1 in 5 Android devices with a security app installed
- Ransomware attacks that track a victim’s geographic location, holds the system captive and scares the victim into revealing personal information by using the victim’s local police force as a threat
- More sophisticated attack tools, like the automatic transfer systems, allow criminals to steal banking information when they are not online
- Organization of tried-and-true attack methods, such as the Blackhole Exploit Kit, offers technical support for criminals looking to collect personal financial information
- The IXESHE malware targeted enterprises primarily in East Asia, with the number of C&C servers in Taiwan equaling those located in the U.S.
- Pinterest has become the social media platform of choice among criminals; the top 5 social engineering lures being used across all social networking sites are: Diablo 3, Instagram Android, Angry Birds Space, London 2012 Olympics and Tibet
For complete details see Trend Micro Q2 2012 report here. You can also take a look at TrendLabs’ Android Menace INFOGRAPHICS
