Chinese Hackers against Chinese Users to be a Trend in 2008

According to Arbor Security and Engineering Response Team (ASERT), there will be a rise in "Chinese on Chinese" cyber attacks that would specifically use Chinese-language software like QQ Messenger. This development reflects a rapid rise in computer users and cyber criminals in China.

Arbor predicts that attacks of the above kind would grow in 2008 as more Chinese users start to surf the Internet, new software is programmed in Chinese language, and Chinese online criminals get to be more organized and sophisticated.

The security company also expects that there would be larger Storm-created botnets and more of P2P (Peer-to-Peer) attacks next year. Senior Security Engineer Jose Nazario at Arbor Networks said that in 2007, data breaches, browser exploits, Storm worm and spyware were primary online threats. But in 2008, there is likely to be an increase in Chinese hackers, P2P network spammers and capturing of the Storm botnet.

Security firm F-Secure said that aside the doubling of malware with their threats increasing rapidly in the next few years, there would also be an increase in botnets that would stir the online community. The Storm worm relating to a lot of backdoor trojans would be more virulent and worms spreading through e-mail to build a massive P2P network are also expected to propagate.

Meanwhile, the sophisticated P2P networks that malware authors are creating to harvest data are getting harder to spot and block. IT security groups therefore need to opt for steps such as measuring traffic carrying malware and installing an all-inclusive security system with advanced techniques relating to control of network access and detection of network-based threats.

2008, Arbor said, would also have a combination of spamming activities to trap unsuspecting Internet users with attacks exploiting current events, for instance, the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Since e-mails are increasingly able to withstand spam attacks, security analysts expect that spammers would target blogs and forums in attempts to draw viewers' interests.

ASERT said that as the online crime market would continue to expand through 2008, businesses need to implement the required technology and processes to protect their company as well as customer data. BusinessWeek reported it on December 13, 2007.

Related article: Chinese Hackers Threatening Korean Game Sites

» SPAMfighter News - 12/27/2007