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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Yes, guys, those spam e-mails for Viagra or baldness cream just might be directed to you personally. So, too, are many of the other crafty come-ons clogging inboxes, trying to lure us to fake Web sites so criminals can steal our personal information. A new study by Cisco Systems Inc. found an alarming increase in the amount of personalized spam, which online identity thieves create using stolen lists of e-mail addresses or other poached data about their victims, such as where they went to school or which bank they use. Unlike traditional spam, most of which is blocked by e-mail filters, personalized spam, known as "spear phishing" messages, often sail through unmolested. They're sent in smaller chunks, and often come from accounts the criminals have set up at reputable Web-based e-mail services. Some of the messages are expertly crafted, linking to beautifully designed Web sites that are bogus or immediately install malicious programs. Cisco's annual security study found that spam is growing quickly — nearly 200 billion spam messages are now sent each day, double the volume in 2007 — and that targeted attacks are also rising sharply.
As social networking tools change the way we communicate, spammers have begun turning their attention to services such as Facebook and MySpace, tricking users into installing viruses, launching fraudulent websites and deploying malware throughout their computers and networks, accoring to a a new report by MessageLabs. While spamming via e-mail services remains prevalent, "spammers see social networks as the new horizon," says Matt Sergeant, senior anti-spam technologist at MessageLabs. Spammers have managed to set up phony social networking accounts, according to MessageLabs, by breaking the protections set in place by a safeguard known as CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart), the letters you normally have to type in when you register for a website that says "Are you a human?" Luckily, if you're wading in the social networking pool, you can revisit some core security principles in order to protect yourself from spammers and other characters on Facebook who can ruin your computer or identity, Sergeant says.
DETROIT -- A Hong Kong businessman pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal fraud and money laundering charges in a massive Internet fraud scheme allegedly masterminded by Michigan "Spam King" Alan Ralsky. How Wai John Hui, 50, a Canadian citizen who lived in Vancouver and Hong Kong, is the third of 11 defendants to plead guilty and agree to testify against Ralsky and others. John Hui, 50, a Canadian citizen who lived in Vancouver and Hong Kong, is the third of 11 defendants to plead guilty and agree to testify against Ralsky and others. Ralsky is the accused ringleader in a conspiracy by which tens of millions of unsolicited e-mail messages were sent to fraudulently pump up the prices of Chinese stocks held by him and his co-conspirators. Ralsky's attorney, Steve Fishman, has said Ralsky will fight the charges. A jury trial is set for September. Hui, who could face more than six years in prison when he is sentenced in October, was the Chinese connection and the CEO of one of the companies whose stock was artificially inflated as a result of the fraud, Acting U.S. Attorney Terrence Berg said. "The Internet makes it so much easier to reach this worldwide pool of victims," Berg said. "When you combine that with the ability to pump up stocks through sending millions of messages and being able to manipulate the market, that means a lot of profits for the bad guys and a lot of harm to the victims."
IT security firm Barracuda Networks is predicting that spam volumes will rise to more than 95 per cent of all email in 2009, despite a crackdown on several major spam outfits in recent months. The company's research found that spam levels in 2008 remained largely unchanged compared with the previous year, making up between 90 and 95 per cent of total email attempts. However, the growing use of botnets could push this figure over the 95 per cent mark next year, according to Barracuda. "As the end of the year quickly approaches, many are asking if spam levels can get any worse in the new year," said Stephen Pao, vice president of product management at Barracuda. "There are a couple factors that we predict may cause spam to increase slightly in 2009, but it is equally important to note that the level of legitimate email is also increasing each year."
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) — Armies of hijacked computers are flooding the world with spam as hackers devise slicker ways to take over unwitting people's machines, according to a Cisco report. Virus-infected computers are woven into "botnets" used to attack more machines and to send specious sales pitches to email addresses in low-cost quests to bilk readers out of cash. "Every year we see threats evolve as criminals discover new ways to exploit people, networks and the Internet," said Cisco chief security researcher Patrick Peterson. Junk email referred to as spam accounts for nearly 200 billion messages daily, approximately 90 percent of email worldwide, according to a Cisco Annual Security Report. The United States is the biggest source of spam, accounting for 17.2 percent of the messages. Turkey and Russia ranked second and third, accounting for 9.2 percent and 8 percent of spam respectively, according to Cisco.
Malicious computer hackers will utilize better technological and psychological techniques in the year ahead, according to a security report from equipment vendor Cisco. Targeted attacks, cross-vector attacks and a rise in threats originating from legit domains are the report's most concerning trends. As malware writers and Internet attackers become more sophisticated, 2009 looks to be a year of more focused attacks by profit-driven criminals bent on stealing data from businesses, employees and consumers. Networking firm Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) Latest News about Cisco Systems released its annual Threat Report Monday, citing a nearly 12 percent increase in the number of disclosed vulnerabilities over 2007 and a tripling of vulnerabilities in virtualization Consolidate Mac Servers. Run Windows Server on your Mac. Watch a Demo or Download a Trial. technology since last year. Targeted attacks and blended, cross-vector assaults, along with a 90 percent growth in threats originating from legitimate domains, top this year's list of the most worrisome new trends plaguing computer users, according to the report. Attackers are changing tactics, leaving infected attachments behind for more specialized methods. Malware volume propagated via e-mail attachments declined by 50 percent from the previous two years (2005-2006), noted Cisco researchers.
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) today released a security report that warns that Internet-based attacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated and specialized as profit-driven criminals continue to hone their approach to stealing data from businesses, employees and consumers. In the 2008 edition of the Cisco® Annual Security Report, the company identifies the year's top security threats and offers recommendations for protecting networks against attacks that are propagating more rapidly, becoming increasingly difficult to detect, and exploiting technological and human vulnerabilities. "Every year we see threats evolve as criminals discover new ways to exploit people, networks and the Internet. This year's trends underscore how important it is to look at all basic elements of security policies and technologies," said Patrick Peterson, Cisco fellow and chief security researcher. "Organizations can lower their risk of data loss by fine-tuning access controls and patching known vulnerabilities to eliminate the ability for criminals to exploit holes in infrastructures. It is important to upgrade applications, endpoint systems and networking equipment to help ensure that corporate systems run smoothly and minimize risk." Peterson describes some key threat trends that gained prominence in 2008 in three video blogs posted today: 1.) Overview of the Report: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGy1myxIDu0) 2.) Botnets (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvfdj6OD4bk) 3.) Reputation Hijacking (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZ_1oRSZhL8)
One of the most disturbing cybercrime trends in 2008, many security analysts say, has been the emergence of a full-blown underground economy where credit card information, identity theft information, and spam and phishing software are all available for relatively low prices. View our slide show of 2008's biggest tech crime stories Security software company Symantec became the latest company to raise red flags about what it called the "underground server" economy last month, when it issued a report estimating that roughly $276 million worth of goods and information is available on online black markets. Credit card data accounted for 59% of the information available for sale on underground servers, Symantec reported, with identity theft information (16%), server accounts (10%), financial accounts (8%) and spam and phishing programs (6%) trailing far behind. What's even more unnerving than the availability of this information is its low price. According to Symantec, bank account credentials are selling for $10 to $1,000, while information about financial Web sites' vulnerabilities sell for an average $740. If all the stolen information available on the servers were exploited successfully, it would bring in about $5 billion, Symantec estimates. One big reason this data is more widely available is that writing malicious code has grown from a hobby for many hackers into a full-time job where code writers make a living stealing information and selling it over underground server systems, says Dave Marcus, security research and communications manager at McAfee Avert Labs.
The malware assault on our PCs escalated in 2008, according to antivirus vendor F-Secure. The company's threat summary for the second half of 2008 reports that F-Secure added 1 million virus definitions to its database this year, a threefold increase from the number of viruses the Finnish security vendor detected in 2007. Today's malware authors aren't just looking to cause trouble; they're after your money and personal information, which these days are synonymous. Attacks are only going to increase in number and sophistication. If you thought you could avoid an infection by staying away from questionable sites, downloads, and e-mail links, you're mistaken. The only way to play it safe is to assume the worst. That's why I spent several hours last week disinfecting a notebook computer that probably wasn't infected in the first place. It all started when I decided to run a free online virus scan on my notebook. I use a top-rated security suite that's set to update its virus definitions and other settings automatically, so I was confident the scan would come up empty. (I'm not going to name either product because I don't want this post to be construed as a recommendation one way or the other.) Unfortunately, after a complete system check, the online virus service told me it found two suspicious files on my notebook. The scanner's option to remove the files was grayed out, and the option to "skip" them was recommended.
December 15, 2008 (Computerworld) Spam volumes are creeping up again after plummeting four weeks ago when a rogue hosting company was yanked off of the Internet. IronPort Systems Inc., a maker of e-mail security tools, said that spam volumes last Tuesday reached 96.8 billion messages, over 30 billion more than were sent in the days following the Nov. 11 takedown of McColo Corp. by its primary Internet service providers. An average of 190 billion spam messages were sent daily in the month prior to the shutdown of McColo for allegedly harboring cybercriminals running some of the biggest spam-spewing botnets. Joe Stewart, director of malware research at SecureWorks Inc., said botnets that were mostly unaffected by McColo's disappearance are responsible for the resurgence.
