Report: Cybercriminals Responsible For More Than A Third Of Viruses In 2010

PandaLabs, the antimalware laboratory of Panda Securityhas released its 2010 Annual Security Report, which details an extremely interesting year of cybercrime, cyberwar and cyberactivism.

The full report is available at http://press.pandasecurity.com/press-room/panda-white-paper/.

In 2010, cybercriminals created and distributed one-third of all existing viruses, creating 34 percent of all malware that has ever existed and been classified by the company. Panda Security's proprietary Collective Intelligence system, which automatically detects, analyzes and classifies 99.4 percent of all malware received, currently stores 134 million unique files, out of which 60 million are malware (viruses, worms, Trojans and other computer threats).

Despite these dramatic numbers, the report highlights some good news. PandaLabs discovered that the speed at which the number of new threats is growing has actually decreased when compared to 2009. Every year since 2003, new threats grew by at least 100 percent every year, but in 2010, the increase was approximately 50 percent. 

Banker Trojans still dominate the ranking of new malware that appeared in 2010 (56 percent of all samples), followed by viruses and worms. In addition, a fairly recent newcomer to the malware landscape, rogueware (fake antivirus software) already comprised 11.6  of all the malware gathered in the Collective Intelligence database, and has become a category, that despite appearing only four years ago, has created great havoc among users.

The countries leading the list of most infections are Thailand, China and Taiwan, with 60 to 70 percent of infected computers (data gathered from the free scanning tool Panda ActiveScan in 2010).

2010 witnessed hackers exploit social media, the positioning of fake websites (BlackHat SEO techniques) and zero-day vulnerabilities as its primary methods of infection. Spam also kept its position as one of the main threats in 2010, despite the fact that the dismantling of certain botnets (like the famous Operation Mariposa or Bredolab) prevented many computers from being used as zombies to send spam. This created a positive effect in spam traffic worldwide. Last year, approximately 95 percent of all email traffic globally was spam, but this dropped to an average of 85 percent in 2010. 

2010 was truly the year of cybercrime, cyberwar and cyberactivism. Although cyber-crime has existed for many years, cyber-war became a much more active and aggressive part of the malware landscape. The most notorious was Stuxnet, a new worm that targeted nuclear power plants and managed to infect the Bushehr plant, as confirmed by the Iranian authorities. Simultaneously, a new worm appeared called "Here you have," that was created by a terrorist organization known as "Brigades of Tariq ibn Ziyad." According to this group, their intention was to remind the United States of the 9/11 attacks and call for respect for the Islamic religion as a response to Pastor Terry Jones' threat of burning the Quran.

And even though some aspects are still to be clarified, Operation Aurora was also in the spotlight. The attack, allegedly launched from China, targeted employees of large multinationals by installing a Trojan on their PCs that could access all their confidential information.

2010 also witnessed the emergence of new phenomenon called cyber-protests or hacktivism. This phenomenon, made famous by the Anonymous group, is not actually new, but grabbed the headlines in 2010 for the coordinated DDoS attacks launched on copyright societies and their defense of WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange.

Besides offering information about the main security holes in Windows and Mac, the 2010 Annual Security Report also covers the most important security incidents affecting the most popular social networking sites. Facebook and Twitter were the most affected, but there were also attacks on other sites including LinkedIn and Fotolog. There were several techniques used for tricking users on these sites, such as hijacking Facebook's "Like" button, stealing identities to send out messages from trusted sources, exploiting vulnerabilities in Twitter to run Javascript code and distributing fake apps that redirect users to infected sites.

Featured

  • AI to Help Resolve Non-Emergency Calls Across Utah and Decrease 911 Caller Wait Times

    The Utah Communications Authority (UCA), which oversees the state’s next generation 911 technology services, recently announced that public safety answering points (PSAPs) throughout the state plan to implement Motorola Solutions’ Virtual Response technology to automate the receipt and resolution of 10-digit non-emergency line calls in Utah with the help of AI. Read Now

  • Report: 2025 Video Surveillance Market Set to Grow After Small Decline in 2024

    Novaira Insights has unveiled its latest report, “World Market for Video Surveillance Hardware and Software – 2025 Edition.” The research indicates that the global market for video surveillance hardware and software experienced a slight decline of 0.3% in 2024. This performance fell short of previous forecasts, primarily due to a significant decrease of 7.8% in the Chinese market. Conversely, the rest of the world saw a growth of 4.9%. The global market for video surveillance equipment was estimated to be worth $25.0 billion in 2024. Read Now

  • Report Reveals Local Governments Face Surge in Ransomware Attacks with Minimal Resources

    KnowBe4, the cybersecurity platform that comprehensively addresses human risk management, recently released new research highlighting the critical cybersecurity challenges facing state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) governments. The report details how government organizations have become prime targets for cybercriminals while simultaneously facing severe resource constraints. Read Now

  • Video Surveillance Trends to Watch

    With more organizations adding newer capabilities to their surveillance systems, it’s always important to remember the “basics” of system configuration and deployment, as well as the topline benefits of continually emerging technologies like AI and the cloud. Read Now

  • New Report Reveals Top Trends Transforming Access Controller Technology

    Mercury Security, a provider in access control hardware and open platform solutions, has published its Trends in Access Controllers Report, based on a survey of over 450 security professionals across North America and Europe. The findings highlight the controller’s vital role in a physical access control system (PACS), where the device not only enforces access policies but also connects with readers to verify user credentials—ranging from ID badges to biometrics and mobile identities. With 72% of respondents identifying the controller as a critical or important factor in PACS design, the report underscores how the choice of controller platform has become a strategic decision for today’s security leaders. Read Now

New Products

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.”

  • Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

    Connect ONE®

    Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

  • Unified VMS

    AxxonSoft introduces version 2.0 of the Axxon One VMS. The new release features integrations with various physical security systems, making Axxon One a unified VMS. Other enhancements include new AI video analytics and intelligent search functions, hardened cybersecurity, usability and performance improvements, and expanded cloud capabilities