2009: The year ahead in security

Like most of the technology industry, IT security is unlikely to see a major new trend next year, but rather a continuation of many of the themes and vulnerabilities reported in 2008.

It is clear that spam, despite recent triumphs by law enforcers, will continue to grow and become more malicious. Businesses and home users will also have to be on their guard against increasingly stealthy and sophisticated malware designed to steal their details.

And web vulnerabilities will be the most highly exploited as criminals go for the path of least resistance, so web site owners will need to be on guard as hacks of legitimate sites increase.

The continuing financial crisis is also likely to affect the security landscape in increasingly dangerous ways.