Hacktivism, Mobile Threats Will Surge in 2011

If 2010 was the year of Stuxnet and Mariposa, 2011 is looking like it will be the year of living dangerous on your smartphone.

As eSecurity Planet discovered, a new report from security software vendor Panda Security makes it clear that mobile threats — including many that will target enterprise data — will consume IT administrators and BlackBerry owners alike in the new year.

The combination of a lousy economy throughout most of the world, the convenience of relatively cheap do-it-yourself malware kits and the outmanned and often overmatched enforcement agencies charged with policing cyberspace create an appealing environment for hackers looking to line their pockets, make an ideological point or both.

Besides old scams like scareware and garden-variety SQL injection attacks, Panda Security expects to see a surge in so-called hacktivism attacks like the ones perpetrated in recent weeks against MasterCard, Visa and other sites in support of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

Hackers motivated by money, country and ideology will pose new and far more complex security challenges for consumers and enterprise IT administrators in 2011, according to a new report from security software vendor Panda Security.

Even though total malware production soared to an all-time high in 2010 to more than 60,000 new pieces identified each day, Panda and other leading security software firms believe the worst is yet to come.

Read the full story at eSecurity Planet:


Hacktivism, Mobile Scams Top 2011 Security Threats