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New Threats Rise by 48 Percent
Techtree News Staff, Dec 07, 2005 1628 hrs ISTSophos has revealed the top ten malware threats of 2005, as part of its report detailing the dire security threats of the year.
Sophos has revealed the top ten malware threats of 2005, as part of its report detailing the dire security threats of the year.
The "Sophos Security Threat Management Report 2005," says that 2005 saw a 48 per cent rise in the number of new threats, with the lingering Zafi-D worm at top-spot on the virus chart. While last year's hard hitting Netsky-P dropped to second place; Sober-Z, unleashed in November 2005, climbed-up to third position.
The top ten in the virus list for 2005 are Zafi-D at top-spot; Netsky-P at second position; Sober-Z at third place; Sober-N at fourth spot; Zafi-B at fifth position; Mytob-BE at sixth place; Mytob-AS at seventh spot; Netsky-D at eighth position; Mytob-GH at ninth place; and Mytob-EP at tenth spot.
According to the report, on an average one in every 44 emails in 2005 was viral, with the figure rising to one in twelve during major out-breaks. Almost 15,907 new malware threats were identified during the course of the year.
Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant, Sophos, said, "Don't let the figures fool you - old-timers may head up the top ten, but the enormous rise in the number of new threats shows that 2005 has been anything but quiet on the malware front. This huge increase stems from the escalating interest in authoring Trojans, worms and viruses shown by criminal gangs intent on making a profit. By focusing their efforts on a smaller number of victims, cyber-criminals can target them with bespoke malware, increasing their chances of slipping under the security net."
Sophos' report talks about other interesting findings for 2005. While the top ten threats feature Windows-based worms, the number of Trojan horses written during 2005 outweighs worms by nearly 2:1.
The percentage of malware including spyware components, has risen from 54.2 percent in January to 66.4 percent by end of 2005; which only goes to prove that malware authors are involved in targeted attacks, as against wide-spread bombardment. This also explains why over 60 per cent of the world's spam is actually spewed out by zombie computers.
"Unlike viruses or worms, Trojans cannot replicate on their own, meaning that they must be deliberately emailed or planted on websites in order to spread. It's more and more common for new Trojans to become widespread after being spammed en masse from zombie computers. It's no surprise that most of the top ten threats allow hackers to gain access to an infected PC, enabling them to create a zombie, steal information, and dish out their malware from under the nose of unsuspecting users." Cluley said.
The report further goes on to say that unprotected computers have a 40 percent chance of being infected by an internet worm in ten minutes, thereby turning them into zombies.
Miscellaneous facts disclosed by Sophos include the names of countries responsible for relaying maximum spam during 2005, plus the surge in pornographic spam and messages attempting "pump-and-dump" stock scams.
Sophos has made available free virus and security news RSS feeds on their site for the benefit of Internet users.
The "Sophos Security Threat Management Report 2005," says that 2005 saw a 48 per cent rise in the number of new threats, with the lingering Zafi-D worm at top-spot on the virus chart. While last year's hard hitting Netsky-P dropped to second place; Sober-Z, unleashed in November 2005, climbed-up to third position.
The top ten in the virus list for 2005 are Zafi-D at top-spot; Netsky-P at second position; Sober-Z at third place; Sober-N at fourth spot; Zafi-B at fifth position; Mytob-BE at sixth place; Mytob-AS at seventh spot; Netsky-D at eighth position; Mytob-GH at ninth place; and Mytob-EP at tenth spot.
According to the report, on an average one in every 44 emails in 2005 was viral, with the figure rising to one in twelve during major out-breaks. Almost 15,907 new malware threats were identified during the course of the year.
Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant, Sophos, said, "Don't let the figures fool you - old-timers may head up the top ten, but the enormous rise in the number of new threats shows that 2005 has been anything but quiet on the malware front. This huge increase stems from the escalating interest in authoring Trojans, worms and viruses shown by criminal gangs intent on making a profit. By focusing their efforts on a smaller number of victims, cyber-criminals can target them with bespoke malware, increasing their chances of slipping under the security net."
Sophos' report talks about other interesting findings for 2005. While the top ten threats feature Windows-based worms, the number of Trojan horses written during 2005 outweighs worms by nearly 2:1.
The percentage of malware including spyware components, has risen from 54.2 percent in January to 66.4 percent by end of 2005; which only goes to prove that malware authors are involved in targeted attacks, as against wide-spread bombardment. This also explains why over 60 per cent of the world's spam is actually spewed out by zombie computers.
"Unlike viruses or worms, Trojans cannot replicate on their own, meaning that they must be deliberately emailed or planted on websites in order to spread. It's more and more common for new Trojans to become widespread after being spammed en masse from zombie computers. It's no surprise that most of the top ten threats allow hackers to gain access to an infected PC, enabling them to create a zombie, steal information, and dish out their malware from under the nose of unsuspecting users." Cluley said.
The report further goes on to say that unprotected computers have a 40 percent chance of being infected by an internet worm in ten minutes, thereby turning them into zombies.
Miscellaneous facts disclosed by Sophos include the names of countries responsible for relaying maximum spam during 2005, plus the surge in pornographic spam and messages attempting "pump-and-dump" stock scams.
Sophos has made available free virus and security news RSS feeds on their site for the benefit of Internet users.
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