Threat Update: Spam and Phishing Out, Trojans and Scareware In

Posted 04/09/2009 at 4:20pm | by Mark Edward Soper

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If you've been worrying about computer security for awhile, you might remember when macro viruses in Microsoft Word and Excel files were at the top of the exploit list. These file formats, along with the omnipresent Adobe Reader PDF format, are once again among the biggest threat vectors being exploited by today's malware, according to a new report from the Microsoft Malware Protection Center. Fittingly, the full report and a condensed key findings version are available in either PDF or Microsoft's own XPS formats. These reports cover the July-December 2008 period.

Some key findings include:

• Scareware (which Microsoft calls "rogue security software") is on the rise, including the latest versions of our old friend  Antivirus XP.
• A slight reduction in unique vulnerability disclosures from 2007, but the High (most serious) category was larger in the second half of 2008 than in the first half of the year or the second half of 2007.
• Applications continue to be the biggest target (86.7%, with browsers at 8.8%, and operating systems at only 4.5%)
• The second half of 2008 saw a big rise in Microsoft security bulletins: over 67% more than in the first half of the year.
• US English and Chinese-language browsers were the chief targets of browser-based exploits, accounting for almost 60% of all attacks.
• Microsoft-based vulnerabilities accounting for more than 40% of browser-based attacks on systems running Windows XP, but less than 6% on systems running Windows Vista.
• Ironically, the most frequently exploited vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office have been patched since 2006, but were targets mainly because up-to-date service packs were not installed.
• Adobe PDF-based attacks rose sharply in the second half of 2008, but the attacks cited in the survey are blocked by the current versions of affected products.
• Despite the rise in software-borne attacks, lost and stolen equipment continues to be the biggest security risk, amounting to 50% of the incidents listed in the OSF Data Loss Database.
• The US, Canada, Europe and Russia continue to lead the world in phishing sites.
• Miscellaneous Trojans, followed by Trojan downloaders and droppers are the two most common threat types detected and removed by Microsoft's Windows Live One Care and Forefront Client Security apps in the second half of 2008.
• By contrast, older threats such as backdoors, viruses, exploits, and spyware are significantly less of a threat than in 2006 and 2007.

What have you found to be the biggest security threats you face in the office - and at home? Hit Comment and share your security war stories.