Top Ten Web Security Threats for 2008

November 6, 2007: Online security firm, Websense has released its top ten web security threat predictions for 2008 with a particular focus on event based threats.

One thing that 2007 has taught us is that you should never underestimate the creativity of a malicious software writer. With the rise of increasingly clever ruses to get unsuspecting users to click on email links this year, it’s no wonder that 2008 is predicted to contain more of this type of attack, only more potent then before.

“Looking at the current attack trends, cyber criminal techniques are evolving quickly and efficiently to not only evade detection, but to steal data and manipulate trusted content such as Web sites and applications,” said Dan Hubbard, vice president of security research, Websense. “It’s critical that organisations and individuals recognise that attackers are changing techniques and launching targeted attacks.”

The report has zeroed in on several emerging threat areas, such as social networking threats and event based attacks. The top threat the report identified for 2009 was the Olympics, which is such a spectacle that it draws colossal amounts of international interest and makes it a lucrative target for malicious users.

Websense 2008 Security Threat Predictions

1. Olympics – new cyber attacks, phishing and fraud
2. Malicious SPAM invades blogs, search engines, forums and Web sites
3. Attackers use Web’s ‘weakest links’ to launch attacks
4. Number of compromised Web sites will surpass number of created malicious sites
5. Cross-platform Web attacks – Mac, iPhone popularity spurs increase
6. Rise in targeted Web 2.0 special interest attacks - hackers targeting specific groups of people based on interests and profile
7. Morphing JavaScript to evade anti-virus scanners
8. Data concealment methods increase in sophistication
9. Global law enforcement will crack down on key hacker groups and individuals
10. Vishing and voice spam will combine and increase

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