"Symantec's Internet Security Threat Report gives our organization a detailed analysis of worldwide Internet threats, helping us monitor security risks and adjust our technology and protection processes accordingly," said Dan Lohrmann, chief information security officer for the state of Michigan. "Safeguarding sensitive information and the public's trust is essential for our support of Michigan agencies providing law enforcement, health care, and citizen service. The report's comprehensive data on the global threat landscape complements our department's security operations."
For the first time, Symantec tracked the trade of stolen confidential information and captured data frequently sold on underground economy servers. These servers are often used by hackers and criminal organizations to sell stolen information, including social security numbers, credit cards, personal identification numbers (PINs), and e-mail address lists. During the last six months of 2006, 51 percent of all known underground economy servers in the world were located in the United States.
One of the saddest aspects of this report is the low cost personal information sells for. The report stated that a U.S.-based credit card with a card verification number were available for between US $1 - $6. While an identity, including a U.S. bank account, credit card, date of birth and government issued identification number, was available for between US $14 - $18. This shows how easy it is to access personal information.
Confidential information used in identity theft is often confiscated as a result of a data breach. During the reporting period, data breaches that resulted from hacker activity, the theft or loss of computer hardware, and security policy failure were assessed. The majority of global data breaches affected the government sector, accounting for 25 percent of the total. Government organizations may be considered a prime target as they often store data in many separate locations making it accessible to various people, and thereby increasing the opportunities for attackers to gain unauthorized access. Data breaches and the potential use of confidential information for identity theft can result in a loss of public confidence, legal liability, or costly litigation.
"As cyber criminals become increasingly malicious, they continue to evolve their attack methods to become more complex and sophisticated in order to prevent detection," said Arthur Wong, senior vice president, Symantec Security Response and Managed Services. "End users, whether consumers or enterprises, need to ensure proper security measures to prevent an attacker from gaining access to their confidential information, causing financial loss, harming valuable customers, or damaging their own reputation."
High levels of coordinated attacks combining spam, malicious code, and online fraud were observed. During the second half of 2006, spam made up 59 percent of all monitored e-mail traffic marking a steady increase over the first six months of 2006, with 30 percent of the total spam related to the financial services industry resulting from an increase in "pump-and-dump" spam. During a "pump-and-dump" scheme, cyber criminals profit by purchasing stock when it is low and then artificially pumping up interest in the stock by sending out spam containing false predictions of high performance for the stock. Spam recipients trust the content and buy the stock, creating demand and resulting in a rise in the stock price. When the stock price increases, the cyber criminals sell their stock for a profit.
Over the last six months of 2006, a total of 166,248 unique phishing messages, an average of 904 per day, were detected, marking a 6 percent increase over the first six months of 2006. Phishing tends to be more prevalent during the week as opposed to the weekends, indicating that phishing activity mirrors the business week where attackers attempt to mimic a legitimate company's e-mail practices. An increase in phishing activity was also observed during major holidays and other large events, such as the FIFA World Cup, due to the fact that attackers may find it easier to craft theme specific social engineering attacks surrounding special events.
Symantec's Internet Security Threat Report reveals:
- Symantec reported more than 6 million distinct bot-infected computers worldwide during the second half of 2006, representing a 29 percent increase from the previous period
- Trojans constituted 45 percent of the top 50 malicious code samples, representing a 23 percent increase over the first six months of 2006.
- Underground Economy Servers are being used by criminals and criminal organizations to sell stolen information, including government-issued identity numbers, credit cards, bank cards and personal identification numbers (PINs), user accounts, and e-mail address lists.
- Theft or loss of a computer or data storage medium, such as a USB memory key, made up 54 percent of all identity theft-related data breaches.
- For the first time, Symantec identified the countries with the highest amount of malicious activity originating from their networks. The United States had the highest proportion of overall malicious activity, with 31 percent; China was second, with 10 percent; and Germany was third, with 7 percent.
