Data theft is one of the fastest growing cyber threats to
business, according to the annual global threat report from
security firm
Scansafe.
The report is based on real-time analysis of 240 billion web
requests monitored by Scansafe in 2008 for corporate clients in 80
countries across five continents.
Malware increased by 5 times in 2008, but
data theft Trojans increased by more than 15 times from the
year before.
Data theft Trojans made up 14% of all malware blocked by
Scansafe in 2008, compared with just 6% the year before.
This indicates cybercriminals are concentrating on harvesting
data, with most of the malware delivered through
trusted web sites enabling criminals to target specific
data.
"The malware engaged in the 2008 attacks appears to be part of
an unprecedented and massive data harvesting operations with
sensitive verticals most at risk," the report said.
Malware is now created with criminal and commercial intent, said
Mary Landesman, senior security researcher at Scansafe.
"Online crime has become a lucrative business and both
commercial and personal data fetch a significant sum on black
markets," she said.
Enterprises should expect an increase in
intellectual property theft and illegal monitoring of all
network traffic, the report said.
The report identifies the five industry sectors most targeted by
data theft Trojans.
These are: Energy and Oil, Pharmaceutical and Chemical,
Engineering and Construction, Transportation and Shipping, and
Travel and Entertainment.
The number of unique new variants of data theft Trojans aimed at
the Energy and Oil sector was nearly four times the average of
57.