Industry Report: Malware Industry Maturing
VUNet is reporting on a recently released from McAfee on the growing malware threat (McAfee warns 'malware is growing up' - vnunet.com). The punch line comes from McAfee's security research director, David Marcus:
Marcus credits the quick development to an increasingly streamlined and focused malware industry. The concept of for-profit malware has been firmly entrenched for several years now, turning attention-seeking malware writers into savvy businessmen. As the industry continues to evolve, commercial malware toolkit providers are even adding support offerings, he noted.
The report notes:
- Spyware has moved to an ethical gray area where legitimate vendors are using it. For example, Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage software captures user information and sends it to a remote server.
- RFID technologies, growing in popularity in retail and other areas, is ripe for exploitation by attackers
- Bluetooth and mobile devices are now easy targets for attacks; we need to lock these devices down.
What can we expect in the not too distant future? What we have already seen: a variety of malware species and, in time, an emergence of botnets that can take advantage of RFID.
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