Unrelenting Growth Of Malware And Trojans: Threats For It Industry Sustained In 2012

The first quarter report of Panda Security reveals some shocking facts that indicate a shift in the statistics related to online threats

. Viruses so far had been considered as the leading threat for computers and laptops. In the figures below, it has come down to a great extent but Trojans are seen rising substantially. These have now become the biggest online threat.

Statistics at a glance

Trojan 80.77%

Worm 9.31 %

Virus 6.31%

Adware/spyware 2.89%

Others 0.60%

The above-mentioned table is proof enough to show how the proportions of various threats have changed as per the first quarter report released by Panda Security. The report clearly indicates that the incidence of malware and Trojan attacks has increased manifold. Based on the new findings, an ideal antivirus program dedicated for protection against viruses will not be able to protect the system from about 95 percent of online infections.

Trojans/Malware are increasing at a rapid pace

Panda Security has taken the samples of infections recorded in the first three months of 2012 and analyzed the data obtained on this basis. Over six million unique malware samples were notified by the laboratory. Surprisingly, this number is quite high and outrageous if compared to the malware infections noticed in the last few years. Over 80% of these malware infections were caused by Trojans that is nothing short of an alarm or wakeup call for all computer users and security analysts. This has set a new record as these high numbers are capable of crippling millions of computers worldwide.

Major gateways for Trojans and malware

The open source Android mobile operating system has been proved nothing less than a heaven for the cyber criminals. They have utilized this platform to put in viruses and malware to the mobile devices. After realizing this imminent threat, Google has removed several malicious apps from its Android Market now known as Google Play. Ignorant users unknowingly download an infection gaming app in the guise of Angry Birds or Cut The Rope to their devices and thus the provide visa to Trojans and malware into their phones or tablets.

Social networking websites especially Facebook is continuing to grow in terms of users.

Around 45,000 Facebook credentials were stolen by Cyber-crooks recently that was feared to be misused for injecting Trojans and malware. Experts feared that probably criminals might use these infected accounts to send links to peoples Facebook friends to replicate the computer work further.

What is new in the report?

In this report several new things have been highlighted by Panda Security. There has been an increase in the incidents of ransomware attacks that may be credited to the so called Police virus that was noticed in the first quarter. Reportedly, this virus displayed messages with the logos of international law enforcement agencies to dupe users into believing that their computers have been locked because either they have visited inappropriate websites or downloaded illegal material.

Users were charged a certain amount by the virus authors to unlock their computer that was approximately 100 British pounds, dollars or euros. These messages were generated by Trojans to fleece innocent users.

The facts and figures discussed above have brought the antivirus software back on the table of discussion and planning as viruses are backtracked by Trojans and malware. (source: Panda Security Quarterly Report)

by: Sharon R Angela

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