8 network security trends that could happen in 2012
8 network security trends that could happen in 2012
There are eight network security trends that could happen in the coming year, cited Fortinet’s FortiGuard Labs in its predictions on for 2012.
“We foresee a rise of mobile malware (with new worms and polymorphism), increased crackdowns on network run money laundering operations, renewed and successful collaboration between government and the private sectors, discoveries of exploitable SCADA vulnerabilities, an increase in sponsored attacks, and Anonymous hacktivists using their powers for good over evil,” it said.
Looking back on 2011, FortiGuard Labs saw a number of landmark developments in the world of network security. Huge botnets such as DNS Changer and Coreflood were permanently taken off line, 64-bit rootkits advanced (TDSS), source code was leaked for the Zeus and SpyEye botnets, and Anonymous hacktivists raised their profile by taking down major banks offline and threatening to go after a critical infrastructure.
Many of these events the team predicted in their “Top 5 Security Predictions for 2011,” while others, such as legislation to potentially jail and fine individuals who had malicious code stored on computer systems were more surprising.
2012 promises to be even more worrisome, the FortiGuard Labs report outlined.
1. Ransomware to Take Mobile Devices Hostage
Over the past few years, FortiGuard Labs has witnessed the evolution and success of “ransomware” (an infection that holds a device “hostage” until a “ransom” payment is delivered) on the PC. Mobile malware that utilize exploits have also been observed, along with social engineering tricks that lead to root access on the infected device. With root access comes more control and elevated privileges, suitable for the likes of ransomware. FortiGuard predicts the team will see the first instances of ransomware on a mobile device in the coming year.
“We foresee a rise of mobile malware (with new worms and polymorphism), increased crackdowns on network run money laundering operations, renewed and successful collaboration between government and the private sectors, discoveries of exploitable SCADA vulnerabilities, an increase in sponsored attacks, and Anonymous hacktivists using their powers for good over evil,” it said.
Looking back on 2011, FortiGuard Labs saw a number of landmark developments in the world of network security. Huge botnets such as DNS Changer and Coreflood were permanently taken off line, 64-bit rootkits advanced (TDSS), source code was leaked for the Zeus and SpyEye botnets, and Anonymous hacktivists raised their profile by taking down major banks offline and threatening to go after a critical infrastructure.
Many of these events the team predicted in their “Top 5 Security Predictions for 2011,” while others, such as legislation to potentially jail and fine individuals who had malicious code stored on computer systems were more surprising.
2012 promises to be even more worrisome, the FortiGuard Labs report outlined.
1. Ransomware to Take Mobile Devices Hostage
Over the past few years, FortiGuard Labs has witnessed the evolution and success of “ransomware” (an infection that holds a device “hostage” until a “ransom” payment is delivered) on the PC. Mobile malware that utilize exploits have also been observed, along with social engineering tricks that lead to root access on the infected device. With root access comes more control and elevated privileges, suitable for the likes of ransomware. FortiGuard predicts the team will see the first instances of ransomware on a mobile device in the coming year.
