McAfee, Inc. Q3 Threat Report Reveals Average Daily Malware Growth at an All Time High; Spam at Lowest Point since 2008
November 17 2010 - 3:01AM
Business Wire
McAfee, Inc. (NYSE:MFE) today unveiled its McAfee Threats
Report: Third Quarter 2010, which uncovered that average daily
malware growth has reached its highest levels, with an average of
60,000 new pieces of malware identified per day, almost quadrupling
since 2007. At the same time, spam levels decreased in volume this
quarter, both globally and in local geographies. Spam hit a two
year low this quarter while malware continued to soar. McAfee
identified more than 14 million unique pieces of malware in 2010,
one million more than Q3 2009.
One of the most sophisticated pieces of malware that plagued
users in Q3 was the Zeus botnet, the malware at the root of U.S.
small businesses losing $70 million at the hands of Ukrainian
cybercriminals. Most recently, cybercriminals unleashed a Zeus
botnet that is aimed at mobile devices and designed to
intercept SMS messages to validate transactions. As a
result, the criminal can perform all bank transactions,
stealing funds from unsuspecting victims. McAfee also saw an
increase in email campaigns attempting to deliver the Zeus botnet,
under the disguise of the following recognized organization names:
eFAX, FedEx, Internal Revenue Service, Social Security
Administration, United States Postal Service and Western Union.
Botnet activity remained strong in Q3, the most popular of
which, Cutwail, accounted for more than 50 percent of traffic in
every country. Cutwail bots engaged in distributed
denial-of-service attacks against more than 300 websites, including
United States government departments such as the Central
Intelligence Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation, and
businesses websites such as Twitter and PayPal.
Although attacks on social media, such as Koobface and AutoRun
malware, seem to have leveled off, the attacks have not ended
cybercriminal manipulation. Twitter, for example, provides an
attacker with information on the most popular terms and trends
being discussed. Shortened URL services hide website destinations,
disguising malicious links targeted at users searching for these
popular terms. In Q3, 60 percent of the top Google search terms
returned malicious sites within the first 100 results.
The discovery of the highly-sophisticated Stuxnet worm in July
marked the beginning of a new era, and by September, more detailed
analysis found that Stuxnet is more than just a spy worm, but a
weapon written to sabotage critical infrastructure. Stuxnet has
infected thousands of computers of unintended victims from all over
the globe. McAfee Global Threat Intelligence technology has tracked
the breadth and concentration of Stuxnet infections globally, which
were first found in Iran, finding that today India suffers from the
greatest concentration of attacks.
“Our Q3 Threat report shows that cybercriminals are not only
becoming more saavy, but attacks are becoming increasingly more
severe,” said Mike Gallagher, senior vice president and chief
technology officer of Global Threat Intelligence for McAfee.
“Cybercriminals are doing their homework, and are aware of what’s
popular, and what’s insecure. They are attacking mobile devices and
social networking sites, so education about user activity online,
as well as incorporating the proper security technologies are of
utmost importance.”
For a full copy of the Q3 2010 Threats Report, please visit:
www.mcafee.com/Q3_Threat_Report
About McAfee, Inc.
McAfee, Inc., headquartered in Santa Clara, California, 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 unrivalled McAfee 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 secures your digital
world. http://www.mcafee.com
NOTE: McAfee is a registered trademark or trademark of McAfee,
Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.
Other marks may be claimed as the property of others. The product
plans, specifications and descriptions herein are provided for
information only and subject to change without notice, and are
provided without warranty of any kind, express or implied.
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