| CA, the Islandia, N.Y., software company that sells a line of security products, just released its latest Internet Security Outlook Report, listing its eight security predictions for 2008.
CA sees big threats this year for users of social networks, online gaming sites, and instant messaging.
Granted, one usually has to be careful about market reports that are put out by companies that also sell products and service into that market, but the list looks like it nailed a few things. CA sees the biggest threats as:
1. Bots. CA says botnet attacks will increase dramatically. Although the company didn’t provide numbers for comparison, it did note where the biggest dangers are coming from: "bot-herders are changing their tactics, decentralizing via peer-to-peer architectures and are increasingly using instant messaging as a vehicle for spreading botnets."
2. Smart malware: New malware will take aim at virtualized computers and allow hackers to creatively conceal their activities.
3. Gamers under fire: As CA notes, gamers have always been more interested in optimizing their PCs than in security—which makes them tasty targets for thieves who want to stealing account credentials.
4. Social networking sites in the crosshairs: Social networking sites are growing in popularity and CA says some operators aren’t properly protecting their sites.
5. Key dates for opportunity: The upcoming presidential election and Beijing Olympics offer high-profile targets.
6. Web 2.0 services and sites will come under targeted attacks: It can be a challenge to configure Web 2.0 services to be totally security, CA says, making sites that use these technology vulnerable.
7. Windows Vista at risk: It may be off to a slow start, but companies are adopting Vista. Although designed as a more secure operating system, CA noted that 20 vulnerabilities were reported in 2007.
8. Mobile devices will still be safe: Despite rumors of mobile malware, smartphones and handheld communications devices are pretty safe, CA says. Offering perhaps a piece of good news for our increasingly mobile workforce.
|
