Symantec IST Report Identifies Shift Toward Focused Attacks on Desktops; Symantec: No to Firefox Browsers
Symantec today released its eighth volume of the Internet Security Threat Report, one of the most comprehensive sources of Internet threat data in the world. The semiannual report, covering the six-month period from January 1 to June 30, 2005, identified new methods of using malicious code for financial gain with increasing frequency to target desktops rather than enterprise perimeters.
The report also found a rise in the exposure of confidential information. Such threats can result in significant financial loss, particularly if credit card information or banking details are exposed. Moreover, these concerns are more worrisome as online shopping and Internet banking continue to increase in popularity. During the first half of 2005, malicious code that exposed confidential information represented 74 percent of the top 50 malicious code samples reported to Symantec, up from 54 percent in the previous six months.
http://www.symantec.com/press/2005/n050919a.html
Related news: Firefox and Mac security sanctuaries 'under attack'
Symantec has attacked the perceived security advantages of Firefox and Apple Macs by drawing unfavourable comparisons with Microsoft's software and describing Mac fans as living in a "false paradise". According to the latest edition of Symantec's Internet Security Threat Report, 25 vulnerabilities were disclosed for Mozilla browsers and 13 for Microsoft Internet Explorer in the first half of 2005.
Graham Pinkney, head of threat intelligence EMEA at Symantec, said that switching from IE to Firefox as a way of minimising security risks was no longer valid advice.