Pornography most blocked activity on the web globally

Pornography topped the list of activities globally blocked on the web at 51.3 per cent followed by malware at 38.6 per cent last month as web threat traffic significantly grew and witnessed the highest rate of phishing attacks to date, according to a security report.

The other activities were spyware at 5.4 per cent and phishing at 4.7 per cent. Web threat traffic significantly grew due to an increased volume of malware and the highest rate of phishing attacks to date, according to network security provider and UTM (unified threat management) solutions provider Fortinet's June 2009 Threatscape report. The report further noted that active exploits, which were at its highest in May, jumped even further during this period, marking an all-time high.

In the field of computer security, phishing is the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.

Malware is a general term for software programs that have been designed with or can be used for malicious intent. Spyware on the other hand is software that collects information about a person or organisation without their knowledge or informed consent and reports such data back to a third party.

"There were some very noteworthy trends that surfaced in the June report, such as the growing popularity of web-borne malware, which we see driving the next generation of threats to online services," said Derek Manky, Project Manager, Cyber Security and Threat Research, Fortinet. "Hackers continue to attempt to drive mass traffic to their threats, utilising various tactics aided by large online communities, and as a result – more than ever – users should be wary about who and what they trust."

In distinct malware volume reported, the top five regions for this period were the United States (40.57 per cent), Japan (35.61 per cent), Taiwan (34.44 per cent), China (27.74 per cent) and India (19.25 per cent). Distinct malware volume indicates the amount of unique virus names (variants) that has been detected in the given regions, as opposed to total malware volume, which indicates the accumulated amount of all reported incidents.

"The results garnered from our security threat assessment prove that as threats become more numerous and sophisticated, conventional security technologies such as endpoint antivirus, web security gateways, email security gateways and IPS solutions are struggling to keep up," said Jai Balasubramaniyan, Director of Product Management and Marketing, Trend Micro. "The types of malware we found were more than just a nuisance, they were malicious and designed to steal data."

According to the Trend Micro report, between October 2008 and June 2009, 100 pert cent of users were infected with active malware, 50 per cent had at least one data-stealing malware hidden in their networks, 45 per cent had multiple data-stealing malware infections, 83 per cent had at least one malware web download and 60 per cent had more than 20 malware web downloads.

In web borne malware, Fortinet reported the resilient Netsky was bumped off the top 10 malware list. The Zbot variants grabbed top positions in second and third place, with the most active variants, W32/Zbot.M and W32/Zbot.V, spreading key logging and data siphoning Trojans through fake eCard mail and directing users to malicious sites.

Also contributing to the overall trend of malicious redirects, JS/PackRedir.A jumped 36 positions in the top 10 list by redirecting visitors to sites containing malicious content in PDF and SWF files. As per Symantec June 2009 Messagelabs Intelligence report, analysis of web security activity showed that 58.8 per cent of all web-based malware intercepted was new in June.

MessageLabs Intelligence also identified an average of 1,919 new websites per day harbouring malware and other potentially unwanted programs such as spyware and adware, an increase of 67 per cent since May.

With all of the new activity, online gaming Trojans still maintained top positions, holding tight to the number one position, while W32/Virut.A grabbed the number four spot, albeit dropping a couple of ranks.

Spam levels were unchanged during this period, despite efforts to take down the alleged spam-centric network, 3FN/Pricewert. Many campaigns remained aggressive, including the Canadian Pharmacy gang, which mirrored the efforts of Zbot with a fake eCard hook. According to Symantec's report, the global ratio of spam in e-mail traffic from new and previously unknown bad sources was 90.4 per cent (one in 1.1 e-mails), reflecting no change since May. Spam levels for Q2 2009 averaged 88.7 per cent compared with 74.5 per cent for Q1 2009.

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