Trojans are the fastest growing category of data-stealing malware, according to data from TrendLabs(SM), Trend Micro's global network of research, service, and support centers committed to constant threat surveillance and attack prevention. Trojan attacks pose a serious threat to computer security. True to their name, they typically arrive disguised as something benign such as a screen saver, game, or joke.
Based on TrendLabs research:
- In 2007, 52 percent of data-stealing malware were Trojans; in 2008, that number increased to 87 percent; as of Q1 2009, 93 percent of data-stealing malware were Trojans.
- Trojans and Trojan spyware are the predominant type of data-stealing malware in all regions monitored by TrendLabs, including Australia, Asia, Africa, South America, North America and Europe.
"As a threat category, data-stealing malware is experiencing tremendous growth because it serves the needs of financially motivated criminals who leverage the Internet for what it does best - provides valuable information," said Jamz Yaneza, threat research manager for Trend Micro.
The Politics of Transnational Cyber Crime
Politics and cyber crime have finally intersected in news headlines; understandably so: In the U.S. alone, the number of known breaches of government computers with malware more than doubled between 2006 and 2008, according to the Department of Homeland Security.(i)
And, says Trend Micro advanced threat researcher Paul Ferguson, it is even possible that cyber terrorists may have already planted malware within the U.S. electrical grid that would allow them to remotely disrupt service.
Cyber crime has gained significant international mobility. In 2007, Estonian computer networks were crippled when serious distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks against government and civilian sites were reputedly linked back to Russian operatives. At the time, Russia and Estonia were involved in a dispute over the Estonians' removal of a Soviet war memorial. The French Embassy's web site in Beijing was inaccessible for several days after a full-scale cyber attack following President Nicolas Sarkozy's meeting with Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. Experts now widely believe instead that a Chinese hacking group staged the attack for nationalistic purposes.
"Virtually anyone with a computer and Internet access can wreak havoc. In the U.S., hacker attacks have been documented on county or state government sites," said Ferguson. "Smaller organizations have a limited IT budget and few IT staff so they hire a third party to build a web site. Over time, the site fails to be maintained or upgraded, exposing vulnerabilities that hacktivists then leverage to express political views."
Cyber espionage is also grabbing headlines. Every year, corporations suffer billions of dollars in intellectual property losses when trade secrets are illegally copied and sold to competitors on the black market for profit, or used for extortion. Business networks all over the world provide the perfect medium for cybercriminals capable of breaching their defenses.
"Cybercriminals are using malware for financial gain and for geopolitical purposes," said Ferguson. "We have even seen data-stealing malware attacks against U.S. defense contractors - believed to be Chinese - launched to steal confidential trade secrets. However, it's hard to connect the dots back to the people really pulling the strings because of the anonymous nature of the Internet."
