2004: the security year reviewed, Sophos.2004 saw the number of new viruses at their highest for almost three years, with 1,230 new viruses identified in August alone. As well as increasing in prevalence, worms also became more sophisticated, with some even allowing remote hackers to spy on infected users via webcams.The growth of phishing Pronounced "fishing," it is a scam to steal valuable information such as credit card and social security numbers, user IDs and passwords. Also known as "brand spoofing," an official-looking e-mail is sent to potential victims pretending to be from their ISP, bank or retail establishment. is putting sensitive information at risk and has really thrown down the gauntlet gauntlet /gaunt·let/ (gawnt´let) a bandage covering the hand and fingers like a glove. to those trying to ensure secure online transactions. To make matters worse, Sophos recently revealed that do-it-yourself phishing kits were available for download free of charge from the internet. On the spam front, America dominated as the primary source of spam and some regions stepped up their fight by handing down lengthy jail sentences jail sentence jail n → peine f de prison to convicted spammers. To help you and your readers stay one step ahead of the security threats in 2005, on 7 December, Graham Cluley Graham Cluley is a British computer programmer and 'Senior Technology Consultant' at Sophos. He is very well known in the anti-virus industry, and his corporate biography[1] , senior technology consultant at Sophos reviewed the virus and spam landscape and taking a hype-free look at the potential threats for next year. Graham covered: * The developments in 2004--including virus statistics and predictions for what 2005 will bring * The latest tricks spammers are employing to try and avoid detection by anti-spam software * His analysis of how well law enforcement agencies A law enforcement agency (LEA) is a term used to describe any agency which enforces the law. This may be a local or state police, federal agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). are coping with cybercrime cybercrime also known as computer crime Any use of a computer as an instrument to further illegal ends, such as committing fraud, trafficking in child pornography and intellectual property, stealing identities, or violating privacy. * The evolving security threat and the ways in which spam and viruses work together, many now aiming for monetary gain. www.sophos.com |
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