Widespread Cyber Attack Hitting Web

A new survey has revealed the net is being subjected to a high tech crime wave. Over 100 attacks per second hit the world’s computers, and 1 every 4.5 seconds succeeds in an infection. Malware has soared to a record high, increasing by 71% in 2009 compared to 2008′s figures. The enormous surge is credited to the equally increasing popularity of do it yourself toolkits that allow anyone from novice to ubergeek to run their own criminal operation. Some of the kits are free, while others, like the one that allows users to run their own version of Zeus, go for about $700. The sale of these malicious tools has become a booming part of the underground economy itself. Some distributors run their operations like legitimate software enterprises right down to offering technical support to users.

The criminals themselves are becoming more sophisticated as well. Intelligence has become an important part of the game as scammers analyze social networking pages and other online information in order to gather information that will help them personalize their phishing attacks and malicious spam. Spam is getting more and more polished and targeted as scammers rush to stay ahead of increasingly educated users.

The survey also found two new emerging cybercrime hotspots. Brazil and India are making waves due to the fact that although their infrastructure has improved and brought high speed internet to much of the country, their education on security issues has lagged far behind. This gives cybergangs a definite advantage.