Internet security software giant McAfee recently released their Security Threat Predictions Report. McAfee predicts that the year 2013 will be the year of mobile security threat. Online technology is rapidly moving from computers to the mobile Smartphone and thus hackers and cybercriminals are evolving new methods accordingly.
Internet Security Threats
McAfee team has also compiled a list of probably security threats for the coming year:
Mobile Threats
Mobile threats will increase noticeably in 2013 which include mobile worms buying malicious apps and malware kits allowing the hackers to extort your data and payments. Such malware is more common in unlocked and rooted Smartphones. SMS spam may also increase in 2013.
Ryan Sherstobitoff, McAfee Threat Researcher says “”Mobile threats are starting to increase as we get closer to 2013.
Windows 8 targeted
Although new Windows is more secure, hackers and cybercriminals have targeted Windows covertly. Phishing would be the most commonly used mode of Hackers in 2013. Users are highly advised to keep the security software updated to circumvent these covert attacks.
Businesses are on target
Anonymous groups of hackers and their ‘Hacktivism’ will get more active in 2012 to attack the big companies and cause havoc there. The businesses are advised to use online backup services to keep their data safe.
Report from McAfee explains “If attackers can install destructive malware on a large number of machines, then the result can be devastating.”
HTML 5
Security Threat report by McAfee says that hackers will focus on HTML5 in 2013. Most of the users throughout the world today rely on HTML5 supporting browsers and thus it is a new challenge for the hackers.
Report explains “Powerful JavaScript APIs that allow device access will expose the browser as websites gain direct access to hardware.”
Armies and Nation States
Nation States’ security systems will also be on target of hackers in 2013. Frequent cyber threats on Nation Armies might be seen in the coming year says report.
Summarized Threats to Be Warned Of
Some other threats supposed to increase in 2013 include Citadel Trojan and Snowshoe Spam. Citadel Trojan is based on Trojan Horse Zeus stealing the banking information of users and Snowshoe Spam which sends thousands of spam messages with malicious links. Trojan Citadel is expected to be prevalent in Western Europe, particularly in Germany.
Talking about the spam messages McAfee researchers say- ” Though these annoying marketing campaigns that send hundreds of spam messages aren’t malicious like the other threats discussed in the report, they have been increasing over the past two years and are “currently one of the biggest problems in the spam world.”
According to report the biggest threat to botmasters would be the unrecoverable loss of their botnets. International cooperation in child exploitation, policing spam, malware, and illegal pills will continue to threaten the increase of botnets.
McAfee predicts that hacking would come up exponentially as a Service in 2013. Anonymous buyers and sellers trade malware kits and hacking services for money in underground forums.
Conclusion Of McAfee Report
The security threat report submitted by McAfee suggests that the cyber attacks will increase exponentially in 2013. The list compiled by McAfee includes some top priority security threats, but there might be more. Users are advised to keep their computer system up-to-date and keep a data backup.
The complete 16 page report is available for download from the McAfee Website.
You might want to also read Symantec’s Cybersecurity Report highlights Risks & Security Predictions for 2013.
