Yes SIR, Trojan Attacks Are Increasing
Have you been a victim of a hacker? It’s most likely the result of a Trojan, according to Microsoft’s latest Security Intelligence Report, or SIR.
CRN reports that Microsoft pooled 450 million computers and found a 300 percent increase in Trojan infections during the second half of 2007.
Why? Experts say Trojans provide the best bang for the buck and link the increase in Trojans to the explosion of botnets, with the most famous being Storm, which turned one at the beginning of this year. In an interview with IT BusinessEdge blogger Carl Weinschenk, FireEye CEO Ashar Aziz agrees that massive profits are driving innovation and more robust designs.
But the news isn’t all bad, according to InternetNews. The SIR study shows a 15 percent decline in vulnerability disclosures. Jimmy Kuo, principal architect of the Microsoft Malware Protection Center, says there are a number of factors that could be working. Maybe it’s just a general flattening of vulnerabilities. Maybe the spike in disclosures in 2006 was atypical.
This Dark Reading piece says Microsoft also is taking the opportunity to brag about the security of its software. The tech giant boasts that its Patch Tuesday releases are getting lighter and fewer exploits are being found in its newer software. The Black Hat Security conference in March seems to support Microsoft’s claim, saying Apple vulnerabilities have overtaken Microsoft.
by Kara Reeder
Original Article
