Consumers, small businesses and enterprises across the globe all experienced a record number of infection rates for the worst types of spyware in 2005 according to the report which contains data and information for all of 2005. For enterprises, between Q3 and Q4 2005, the number of Trojan horse infections increased 9 percent and from Q2 to Q4 2005, the number of system monitors like keystroke loggers increased 50 percent consecutively each quarter.
"This past year was a boon for spyware criminals," said David Moll, CEO of Webroot Software. "Last month Webroot surveyed U.S. businesses and found that over half of respondents reported a spyware disruption that resulted in lost revenue, a statistic mirrored by a recent FBI study which surmised that computer-related crimes such as spyware cost U.S. business $62 billion. That is 10 percent more than all identity fraud and over 60 times the cost of telecommunications fraud. "This criminal enterprise we call spyware continues to advance in technology and sophistication. As long as the money and opportunities exist, so will spyware."
Throughout 2005 Webroot researchers also observed a steady increase in the complexity and severity of spyware technology. Keyloggers using kernel-level drivers became increasingly common as the year progressed and the usage of polymorphic code continues to increase, according to the company. While some security analysts attribute this continued rise in technology sophistication to spyware developers' desire to capitalize on the increased number of published vulnerabilities, Webroot also found evidence that spyware developers are advancing their technology efforts to evade detection and removal, and maintain their revenue streams.
"Spyware criminals know that many users have some kind of Internet security application deployed on their PCs. These criminals also know that many of these applications do not protect users against the most advanced technologies such as Trojan horses and keyloggers. To capitalize on this security weakness, spyware criminals are increasingly relying on the most advanced technologies to infect users," added Moll. "The only way users can be protected against these types of threats is to use an anti-spyware software that is recognized as a best-of-breed solution and includes frequent, automatic updates."
