MessageLabs Lists the Predominant Malware Groups of 2008

Security firm MessageLabs has released its list of the most prevalent malware groups in 2008. Researchers describe them as the "Naughty Nine" threats of the year.

MessageLabs reveals that Storm worm was the foremost threat, representing an aggressively proliferating malware in 2008. It helped in the building of a massive botnet in the history of cyber attacks, consisting of 2 Million compromised PCs from all over the world when it was at its peak.

After Storm, spam through search engines came in the second position on the malware list. In early 2008, spammers started exploiting redirects on search engines, allowing them to embed a link to a particular search query in the message body of e-mail. The link leads to a phony website of spammers, implying that they could transmit messages without the direct mention of the spam site; thereby, eluding the conventional anti-spam detection systems.

In addition, targeted trojans made to the threat list. Although they existed for many years, new variants have been constantly emerging, eluding anti-virus software because of their changing codes. Moreover, since the starting of 2008, attacks from targeted trojans have grown to around 80 every day.

Further, during April 2008, cyber crooks employed web-based malware to exploit PC users' ignorance of web-borne attacks. During July 2008, the total number of fresh, sinister websites detected each day reached an all-time high of 91%. This outbreak was because of websites enabling SQL injection attacks.

Moreover, the Srizbi botnet was another threat that spewed 50% of the total spam during 2008. This botnet contained over 1.3 Million infected PCs. The botnet stimulated phishing scams impersonating some banks, with a tendency to target smaller credit unions and state banks.

Furthermore, Obama-based spam too marked their presence via two rounds during 2008. This spam used Obama subject lines in 85% of the cases, while another spam referred to McCain, 15% of the instances.

Security researchers said that 2008 was unluckily an eventful year for internet criminals. In addition, they predict that the coming year (2009) too will see a surge in malware.

Related article: Mozilla Rules Out Bug in Its Firefox

» SPAMfighter News - 1/3/2009