Cybercrime Vulnerabilities and Targets in 2010

Cloud, Virtualization Drive CyberCrime in 2010Cloud and virtualization may promise big business benefits for 2010, but a new future threat report from security vendor Trend Micro says the buzzed-about technologies may increase cybercrime by criminals looking for the next big cyber-swindle. Channel Insider takes a deeper look at the report’s biggest threat predictions for enterprises and end users.

Cloud CrimeEveryone’s moving to the cloud, right? Not so fast. Sure, cloud computing promises lower costs and ease of maintenance, but, according to the new report, moving servers outside the firewall pokes gaping holes in enterprise security. The report predicts in 2010 cybercriminals will focus on hacking the cloud connection and attacking enterprise data centers directly to commit cybercrime.

New Internet Protocols AriseThe next-gen Internet Protocol, IPv6, will begin to gain traction and 2010 will see proof-of-concept experimentations begin to materialize, predicts the report. Cybercriminals will begin to manipulate the new protocols through covert channels, but will refrain from active targeting of IPv6 addresses for the near future.

Lookalikes Pose ThreatInternationalized domain names continue to gain popularity, but also create new opportunities to launch old-school phishing attacks. Expect to see cyberscams with look-alike domain names in Cyrillic characters that mimic Latin characters. Lookalike scams will impact corporate reputations and pose a serious challenge for security companies.

Viral Media Means VirusTrend Micro predicts 2010 will see social communities targeted and compromised by cybercrime. The increasing production and development of information designed to be shared through social networking communities expands the potential victim pool for cybercriminals.

Social Networks AttackedSocial networks will also become top venues for identity theft perpetrators. Data posted by trusting users is in high volume and of high value to cybercriminals. Combining personally identifiable data with interaction clues puts social networking users at high risk for cyber crime. The report predicts 2010 will see high-profile personalities suffer from online impersonators and stolen bank accounts.

Local Replaces GlobalGlobal outbreaks like Slammer and CodeRed will become less frequent as more carefully orchestrated and targeted attacks become more prevalent. The report predicts that in 2010, localized attacks will become more prevalent and more sophisticated and replace global outbreaks.

Windows 7 ThreatThe projected rise in adoption of Windows 7 will leave users open to cybercrime. Trend Micro points to Windows 7’s default configuration as the main cause as it is less secure than the Vista default configuration.