CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The APWG reports in its new Phishing Activity Trends Report that
during the 4th quarter of 2014, a record number of crimeware variants
were detected, a strategy of overwhelming proliferation of variations
designed to defeat antivirus software. Meanwhile, phishers increasingly
targeted retail and service sites, hoping to take advantage of the
burgeoning numbers of online shoppers.
During the 4th quarter of 2014 the number of malware variants figure
broke a new record, with 23,500,000 malware samples detected–an average
of 255,000 new threats each day, according to Trends Report contributor,
PandaLabs. This was up 59 percent from 160,000 samples per day in the
second quarter of 2014.
Never in the history of computer security has the amount of new malware
created been so high, according to Luis Corrons, PandaLabs Technical
Director and Trends Report contributing analyst. The great
majority of these malware strains are variants of existing malware
modified by their creators to evade antivirus software used by Internet
consumers. The escalating numbers illustrate the adaptability of the
code and the creativity of the malware authors in extending the
polymorphic obscuration scheme to such a degree. About one-third of
computers worldwide were probably infected with malware of some sort,
according to Corrons.
Retail/Service was the most-targeted industry sector in the fourth
quarter of 2014, representing 29.37 percent of phishing sites, not a
great surprise during the holiday season. Payment Services continued to
be popular targets, with 25.13 percent of attacks during the three-month
period, according to APWG member Internet Identity. “The final quarter
of 2014 also witnessed a raft of email-based phishing attempts against
well-established financial institutions, possibly timed to coincide with
both the holiday spending increase and heightened consumer fears in the
wake of corporate security breaches,” said Carl Leonard, Principal
Security Analyst, Websense Security Labs.
The full text of the report is available here: http://docs.apwg.org/reports/apwg_trends_report_q4_2014.pdf
Additional reporting, analysis and collaborative response programs will
be discussed at the annual APWG eCrime Conference in Barcelona, May
26-29: Https://apwg.org/apwg-events/ecrime2015/
About the APWG
The APWG, founded in 2003 as the Anti-Phishing Working Group, is the
global industry, law enforcement, and government coalition focused on
unifying the global response to electronic crime. Membership is open to
qualified financial institutions, online retailers, ISPs and Telcos, the
law enforcement community, solutions providers, multi-lateral treaty
organizations, research centers, trade associations and government
agencies. There are more than 2,000 companies, government agencies and
NGOs participating in the APWG worldwide. The APWG’s www.apwg.org,
apwg.eu
and education.apwg.org
websites offer the public, industry and government agencies practical
information about phishing and electronically mediated fraud as well as
pointers to pragmatic technical solutions that provide immediate
protection. The APWG is co-founder and co-manager of the STOP. THINK.
CONNECT. Messaging Convention, the global online safety public awareness
collaborative www.stopthinkconnect.org
and founder/curator of the Symposium on Electronic Crime Research, the
world’s only peer-reviewed conference dedicated specifically to
electronic crime studies https://apwg.org/apwg-events/ecrime2015/.
Among APWG’s corporate sponsors are as follows: ATT(T), Afilias Ltd.,
AhnLab, Area 1, Avast!, AVG Technologies, AXUR, BBN Technologies,
Bangkok Bank, Barracuda Networks, Baidu Antivirus, BillMeLater, Bkav,
Booz Allen Hamilton, Blue Coat, BrandMail, BrandProtect, Bsecure
Technologies, CSC Digital Brand Services, Check Point Software
Technologies, Comcast, CSIRTBANELCO, CyberIQ, Cyber Defender,
Cyveillance, DigiCert, Domain Tools, DNS Belgium, Donuts.co, Easy
Solutions, eBay/PayPal (EBAY), eCert, EC Cert, ESET, EST Soft, Facebook,
FEDEX (FDX), Fortinet, FraudWatch International, F-Secure, GlobalSign,
GoDaddy, Google, GroupIB, Hauri, Hitachi Systems, Ltd., Huawei, ICANN,
Iconix, IID, IronPort, ING Bank, Intuit, Internet.bs, iZOOlogic, IT
Matrix, LaCaixa, Lenos Software, MailShell, Malcovery, MarkMonitor,
M86Security, McAfee (MFE), Melbourne IT, MessageLevel, Microsoft (MSFT),
MicroWorld, Mirapoint, MX Tools, NHN, MyPW, nProtect Online Security,
Netcraft, Network Solutions, NeuStar, Nominet, Nominum, Public Interest
Registry, Panda Software, Phishlabs, Phishme.com, Phorm, Planty.net,
Prevx, Procera, Proofpoint, Qihoo 360 Technology, Rakuten, Return Path,
RSA Security (EMC), RuleSpace, SAIC (From Science to Solutions),
SalesForce, SecureBrain, S21sec, SIDN, SilverPop, SiteLock, SoftForum,
SoftLayer, SoftSecurity, SOPHOS, SunTrust, Square, Symantec (SYMC),
Tagged, TDS Telecom, Telefonica (TEF), TransCreditBank, Trend Micro
(TMIC), Trustwave, Vasco (VDSI), VeriSign (VRSN), Websense Inc. (WBSN),
Wombat Security Technologies, Yahoo! (YHOO), and zvelo.