MCAFEE THREATS REPORT SHOWS LARGEST MALWARE RISE IN FOUR
YEARS
Mobile “Drive-by
Downloads”, Use of Twitter for Control of Mobile Botnets,
and Mobile
“Ransomware” Among the Latest Trends
India, September 5, 2012 –
McAfee today released the McAfee
Threats Report: Second Quarter 2012,which found the biggest increase in
malware samples detected in the last four years. McAfee Labs detected a 1.5
million increase in malware since Q12012 and identified new threats such as
mobile“ drive-by downloads”, the use of Twitter for control of mobile botnets,
and the appearance of mobile “ransomware”.
Through proprietary research and
investigation, McAfee Labs has been witness to rapid growth in its database eor
“zoo” of malware samples. With the malware sample discovery rate accelerating to
nearly 100,000 per day, McAfee has identified key malware variants affecting a
range of users globally.
“Over the last quarter we have
seenprime examples of malware that impacted consumers, businesses, and critical
infrastructure facilities,” said Vincent Weafer, senior vice president of
McAfee Labs. “Attacks that we’ve traditionally seen PCs are now making their
way to other devices. For example, in Q2 we saw Flashback,
which targeted Macintosh devices and techniques such as ransomware and drive-by
downloads targeting mobile. This report highlights the need for protection on
all devices that may be used to access the Internet.”
Malware on the
rise
As PC malware writers master
their craft, they continue to transfer their skills to other popular consumer
and business platforms, such as Google’s Android OS. After the mobile malware
explosion in Q1
2012, Android malware shows no signs of slowing down, putting users on high
alert. Virtually all new mobile malware detected in Q2 2012was directed at the
Android platform, and was comprised of SMS-sending malware, mobile botnets,
spyware and destructive Trojans.
Mobile ransomware and botnets:
the latest cybercrime fads
Ransomware, steadily increasing
quarter over quarter, has become a popular avenue for cyber criminals. Damage
can range from loss of photos and personal files for home users to data
encryption and demands for money for large enterprises. Ransomware is especially
problematic as it can hold computers and data hostage, instantly damaging
machines.
Botnets, a network of compromised
computers infected with malicious software and used to generate spam, send
viruses or cause Web servers to fail, have also taken center stage again this
quarter with infections reaching a 12-month high. With the U.S. as the global
hub of botnet control servers, new methods for control have also been uncovered,
including the use of Twitter for mobile botnet command and control. As such, the
attacker can tweet commands with relative anonymity and all infected devices
will follow them.
Thumb drive corrupters,
password stealers and web threats
Thumb drive and password-stealing
malware showed significant growth in Q2. At nearly 1.2 million new samples, the
AutoRunworm spreads from thumb drives by executing code embedded in
AutoRunfiles, repeating the process on any and all drives discovered.
Password-stealing malware, at nearly 1.6 million new samples, collects account
names and passwords, so an attacker can pose as the victim.
Websites with malicious
reputations are influenced by the hosting of malware, potentially unwanted
programs, or phishing sites. This quarter McAfee Labs recorded an average of 2.7
million new bad URLs per month. In June, these new URLs were related to about
300,000 bad domains, which is equivalent to 10,000 new malicious domains every
day. Of the new bad-reputation URLs, 94.2 percent
host malware, exploits or code that have been specifically designed to hijack
computers.
Each quarter, the McAfee Labs
team of 500multidisciplinary researchers in 30 countries follows the complete
range of threats in real time, identifying application vulnerabilities,
analyzing and correlating risks, and enabling instant remediation to protect
enterprises and the public.
To learn more about the rise in
malware in the full copy of the McAfee Threats Report, Second Quarter
2012, please visit http://www.mcafee.com/us/resources/reports/rp-quarterly-threat-q2-2012.pdf.
About
McAfee
McAfee, a wholly owned subsidiary
of Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), is the world's largest dedicated security
technology company. McAfee delivers proactive and proven solutions and services
that help secure systems, networks, and mobile devices around the world,
allowing users to safely connect to the Internet, browse and shop the Web more
securely. Backed by its unrivaled Global Threat Intelligence, McAfee creates
innovative products that empower home users, businesses, the public sector and
service providers by enabling them to prove compliance with regulations, protect
data, prevent disruptions, identify vulnerabilities, and continuously monitor
and improve their security. McAfee is relentlessly focused on constantly finding
new ways to keep our customers safe. http://www.mcafee.com
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