Rise in number of "targeted malware attacks"
By Deborah Bates
28/04/2011
There has been a rise in the number of "targeted malware attacks" taking place throughout the UK and rest of the world, according to a security software firm.
Friend Feed reported that attacks of this kind rose by 60 per cent in 2010, and have increased by 10.5 per cent over the past two quarters.
Furthermore, there have been 85 targeted attacks each day throughout April; which represents the highest figure seen since spring 2009 - when there were around 107 per day.
These types of malicious attacks are called Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), and are targeted specifically at individuals; allowing cyber criminals to extract "valuable" information, or use the person as a springboard into a company's entire network.
The news may prompt more and more companies throughout Britain to check the efficacy and security of their network management software; in a bid to mitigate the risk of any data being stolen, or malware affecting the system. This is particularly important as one expert said anti-virus software wouldn't provide enough protection alone.
Cited on Computer Weekly, the expert, Martin Lee, confirmed the news: "Organisations relying on unsophisticated anti-virus protection may be completely unprotected against this class of threats."
"There is a clear increase in the number of attacks directed against the most frequently-targeted organisations, and targeted attacks appear to be becoming more common, as well as more highly targeted," he added, also implying that these cyber criminals are becoming more intelligent and savvy with their attacks.
