The Symantec Internet Security Threat Report provides a six-month update of worldwide Internet threat activity. It includes analysis of network-based attacks, a review of known vulnerabilities, and highlights of malicious code. It will also assess trends in phishing and spam activity. This volume covers the six-month period from January 1 to June 30, 2007.
Over the past several reporting periods, Symantec has observed a fundamental change in the threat landscape. Attackers have moved away from nuisance and destructive attacks towards activity that is motivated by financial gain. Today’s attackers are increasingly sophisticated and organized, and have begun to adopt methods that are similar to traditional software development and business practices.
Today, the threat landscape is arguably more dynamic than ever. As security measures are developed and implemented to protect the computers of end users and organizations, attackers are rapidly adapting new techniques and strategies to circumvent them.
The ensuing changes have been evident over the first six months of 2007. Based on the data collected during that period, Symantec has observed that the current security threat landscape is characterized by the following:
- Increased professionalization and commercialization of malicious activities
- Threats that are increasingly tailored for specific regions
- Increasing numbers of multistaged attacks
- Attackers targeting victims by first exploiting trusted entities
- Convergence of attack methods
Identity theft is an increasingly prevalent security issue, particularly for organizations that store and manage information that could facilitate identity theft. Compromises that result in the loss of personal data could be quite costly, not only to the people whose identity may be at risk and their respective financial institutions, but also to the organization responsible for collecting the data.
Data breaches that lead to identity theft could damage an organization’s reputation, and undermine customer and institutional confidence in the organization. Underground economy servers are used by criminals and criminal organizations to sell stolen information, typically for subsequent use in identity theft. This data can include government-issued identification numbers (such as social security numbers), credit cards, bank cards, personal identification numbers (PINs), user accounts, and email address lists.
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