Five major trends in cyber security in 2013

1. Network Conflicts or Normality In the online world of 2013 and in the future, the network conflict between different organizations or individuals will become a norm. The network situation in 2013 is more like a “match contest”. Different organizations and groups may display their “strength” and “post information” through cyber attacks.

In addition, there will be more and more attacks against individuals and non-government organizations, such as proponents of political events and members of minorities in conflict. As some individuals or companies gather active hacking organizations, this targeted attack will increase.

2. Ransomware becomes a new method of cyber fraud As the criminal industry of "counterfeit anti-virus software" has subsided, a powerful new model - "ransomware" is emerging. Ransomware is not only simple to defraud victims, it also threatens and intimidates victims. This model has also appeared before, but it is subject to the same restrictions as in real life abductions — there is no good way to collect money. Now, cybercriminals seem to have found a way to solve this problem, that is, using online payment methods. Cybercriminals can now use intimidation rather than deception to obtain illicit proceeds from victims.

3. Mobile advertising software disrupts the network security market Mobile advertising software (or "Madware") can seriously affect the user experience, and may leak personal information such as the user's current location, contact information, and device information to cybercriminals. Madware will infiltrate the user's device when the user downloads an application, and then send a pop-up warning or add icon to the notification bar, modify browser settings, and even collect personal information.

Since online advertising allows device information to be legally collected, and then uses this information to target the target user base, we predict that Madware usage will grow as more and more companies want to be able to achieve revenue through mobile advertising. increase. However, it also unavoidably includes potential malicious attacks against monetized "free" mobile applications.

4. Social Network Monetization Triggers New Threats As consumers, we have placed a high degree of trust in social media. As some networks allow users to purchase and distribute physical gifts, they begin to explore new ways to monetize the platform. The growing network of consumers has also laid the foundation for cybercriminals to launch a new round of attacks.

Symantec expects that the number of malicious software attacks in the future will show an upward trend. The main manifestations are stealing payment vouchers on social networks or enticing users to provide payment information, and other personal information and other potentially valuable information. This may include notifications of false gifts, e-mail messages, etc. to get the victim's home address and other personal information. Although these non-financial information appear to be harmless, cybercriminals will sell this information to others along with other information already available to users, thereby creating a “file” about the victim and then using that information to harm the victim. Other accounts.

5. As the users move toward the mobile environment and the cloud, attackers also follow the attackers. As users begin to use mobile devices and cloud services, attackers also come to these fields. Mobile platforms and cloud services are very likely to become the main targets of cyber attacks in 2013.

In addition, as unmanaged mobile devices frequently enter and exit the corporate network and collect corporate information (which is often subsequently stored in other clouds), the damage and targeted attacks on the data in these mobile devices are increasing.

In 2013, the widespread use of mobile computing will continue to challenge the limits of SSL's mobile infrastructure, and it also highlights a central issue: network activity on mobile browsers is not limited by the processing of SSL certificates. Users often use insecure mobile applications. These applications often bring other potential risks, which further aggravate the problem.