Malware Keeps Rising Though in Cyclical Order

Incidents of Internet attack aiming on public IM and P2P networks have grown by 5% in the second quarter of 2007 compared to the first quarter of the same year. But such decline was significant by 35% from Q1 to Q2 2006.

FaceTime Communications that leads in providing solutions for securing and managing IM, P2P and Web-based networks in the business organization said there were reports of a total number of 317 attacks in Q2 2007 increasing it to 618 since January 1, 2007. According to current research, malware threats rise and fall in a cyclical order typically with peaks in spring and fall and dips in summer and winter.

Security threats came down during Q1 2007 from an increased level in January 2007. They climbed up again in Q2 2007 while reaching a peak in June, the same year. If the pattern follows the previous trend then FaceTime predicts a fall in the summer and then an upswing in early autumn.

Over the period, Q1 to Q2 2007, the attacks meandered through the mainstream networks like Yahoo, MSN and AOL. These attacks fell from 74 incidents in Q1 to 64 in Q2 2007. Attacks that spread through AOL fell from 28 cases to 13. Overall, half of the attacks on important networks spread via MSN, while incidents via Yahoo were at 30% and via AOL at 20%.

FaceTime is continuously tracking the new security incidents and examining the methods these attacks use to spread and multiply. The given statistics confirm that risks from malware infection continue to prevail through real-time communication channels. Every major network on corporate has real-time applications irrespective of the IT department's permission for their use, said Frank Cabri, VP of marketing and product management for FaceTime Communications, as reported by Darkreading on July 9, 2007.

FaceTime determined that the percentage of IRC-based attacks increased over the six quarters since Q1 2006. It had risen from 59% to 72% in the second quarter of 2007. Likewise, single-channel attacks - threats that proliferate via a single vector like AOL, Yahoo or IRC now make up almost 75% of total attacks.

Related article: Malware Authors Turn More Insidious

» SPAMfighter News - 7/23/2007