G DATA Software AG: Antivirus, Virenschutz, Virenscanner, Internet Security

Bochum (Germany), February 6, 2009 - Last year, cyber gangs were constantly subjecting Windows PCs to new threats. Compared to 2007, the number of malware threats increased by an astronomical 570 percent in 2008. In the first six months of last year alone, G Data Security Labs recorded more malicious code than in the whole of 2007, which was itself a record year. In the second half of the year, Trojan horses, backdoors and downloaders once again topped the list. By contrast, the frequently predicted risk to smartphones did not materialize in 2008 either - only 100 threats were identified over 12 months. Alongside the sheer mass of attacks, the offenders also focused on quality and refined their infection strategies and scam tactics during 2008. As usual, the eCrime fraternity interpreted the ideas behind the interactive net in its own particular way and used Web 2.0 applications, social networks and blogs to successfully spread malware and spam. G Data are expecting criminal activity in this area to increase significantly over the next few months.

 

 

“For Windows users, there has never been a more dangerous time to surf the internet with an unprotected PC than in 2008. Last year’s explosive growth of malware shows that we have been dealing with powerful and well organised eCrime networks for some time. Offenders quickly analyse trends and developments to find new ways of infecting computers with malware and steal data on a large scale. 99.2% of the attacks are aimed at Windows computers. Internet users too have increasingly come under attack. In 2008, social networks and Web 2008 applications were increasingly used to spread malware and send out targeted spam. Users should therefore step up measures to check the contents of web pages for malicious code,” concludes Ralf Benzmüller, manager of G Data Security Labs.

 

 

 

2008 did not give providers of security solutions much time to catch their breath. There were 318,248 new threats in the first half of the year, followed by 576,002 in the second. Hence, the record figures of the first half almost doubled. Overall, 894,250 new threats were record in 2008 - 6.7 times as many as in 2007.

The number of malware threats that use Flash’s ActionScript for distribution increased significantly in the last half of last year and is likely to increase further. So far, Flash videos are not seen as a threat - ideal conditions for extensive use by cyber criminals.

 

Fixed date in the cyber crime calendar: Microsoft Patch Day
In 2008, the malware authors made extensive use of the patches for security holes which Microsoft publishes regularly. To do so, hackers analysed the changed files of the operating system and then used the information gained to develop exploit codes. This often takes only a few seconds. Online criminals then integrate these exploit codes in malware or tools for creating and spreading malware.

The most famous victim in 2009: The Carinthian healthcare centres, KABEG. Here, the offenders managed to exploit a security hole that had been known about since October 2008 to smuggle in the Conficker worm.

 

 

Outlook for 2009: Even more malware?
G Data expects the amount of malicious code to increase further in 2009. As in the past year, rapid growth rates are conceivable but from an economic perspective, are scarcely lucrative for the perpetrators. Hence, the growth rates might be lower than in the past year.

Detailed information, a summary of the most important events and figures, as well as additional trends are available in the comprehensive >>G Data Malware Report -Semi-Annual Report for July-December 2008<<.