Part of the problem, as McAfee sees it, is the lack of concern about malware and other security threats to Apple’s products, which, “historically [have not been] a frequently targeted platform by malicious attackers.”
Accordingly, “The lack of user understanding regarding exposure on these platforms and the lack of deployed security solutions make a fertile landscape for cybercriminals.”
The firm said that it expects to see an increase of Mac botnets — networks of computers that have been compromised by the bad guys — to increase, and that Trojan Horse attacks will increase, as well. Trojan Horses are malicious applications that are disguised to look like something else, or included unbeknownst to users with another software installer.
Mobile:
Threats on mobile devices have so far been few and far between, as “jailbreaking” on the iPhone and the arrival of Zeus were the primary mobile threats in 2010. With the widespread adoption of mobile devices in business environments, combined with historically fragile cellular infrastructure and slow strides toward encryption, McAfee Labs predicts that 2011 will bring a rapid escalation of attacks and threats to mobile devices, putting user and corporate data at very high risk.
Social Networking:
And if all this isn’t enough to scare you into securing your Mac, PC, Android, iOS, or other device, McAfee believes that services such as Foursquare and Facebook Places that announce where you all to the world are going to be increasingly used by cybercriminals to get you good.
“There’s no trick to imagining how cybercriminals and scammers can potentially leverage this information,” the company wrote. “In just a few clicks cybercriminals can see in real time who is tweeting and where, what they are saying, what their interests are, and the operating systems and applications they are using. It then becomes child’s play to craft a targeted attack based upon what the bad guys have just learned from these services.”
Lastly, the firm warned that URL shortening services are going to be increasingly leveraged by cybercriminals. There are currently some 3,000 URLs that are shortened every minute, and that this “is a huge opportunity for abuse.”
The report added, “We see a growing number of these used for spam, scamming, and other malicious purposes. This nominal convenience will have a tremendous impact on the success of cybercriminals and scammers as they leverage the immediacy of social media over e-mail for even greater success.”
Apple:
Historically, the Mac OS platform has remained relatively unscathed by malicious attackers, but McAfee Labs warns that Mac-targeted malware will continue to increase in sophistication in 2011. The popularity of iPads and iPhones in business environments, combined with the lack of user understanding of proper security for these devices, will increase the risk for data and identity exposure, and will make Apple botnets and Trojans a common occurrence.
Online scammers and cybercriminals:
McAfee forecasts that online scammers and cybercriminals will target social media in earnest, starting with URL-shortening services used by social media services like Facebook and Twitter to abbreviate URLs down to smaller forms that take up less space in infamously-terse 140-character missives. Unfortunately, shortened URLs enable cybercriminals to obscure the ultimate destination of a link, drawing users into malicious Web sites and pages that attempt to leverage browser exploits and other vulnerabilities. McAfee also expects scammers will increasingly exploit geolocation services like Gowalla, Facebook Places, and foursquare to gather information for “targeted attacks.” These might be technological—such as identifying nearby mobile users vulnerable to a particular application or operating system exploit—or more old school, such as using geolocation services to determine when somebody is out of the house, potentially leaving their home unprotected.
About McAfee:
McAfee, headquartered in Santa Clara, California, is the world's largest dedicated security technology company. McAfee delivers proactive and proven solutions and services that help secure systems, networks, and mobile devices around the world, allowing users to safely connect to the Internet, browse and shop the Web more securely. Backed by its unrivaled Global Threat Intelligence, McAfee creates innovative products that empower home users, businesses, the public sector and service providers by enabling them to prove compliance with regulations, protect data, prevent disruptions, identify vulnerabilities, and continuously monitor and improve their security. McAfee secures your digital world.
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