In a recent press release, McAfee Inc. (MFE – Snapshot Report) disclosed its 2010 Threat Predictions report. In this report the cyber security major stated that, it expects cybercriminals to target social networking sites and third-party applications and use more complex Trojans and botnets to build and execute attacks, and take advantage of HTML 5 to create emerging threats. The company is of the estimation that 2010 will be a good year for law enforcement’s fight against cybercrime.
The company predicts that Facebook, Twitter and third-party applications on these sites experience rapid change, and keeping in pace with that cybercriminals are adopting new technologies to work with. Users will become more vulnerable to attacks that blindly distribute rogue applications across their networks, and cybercriminals will take advantage of trusted friend links to get users to click on what they might otherwise treat cautiously. The company is of the opinion that web criminals will adopt new methods to attack these public sites in 2010.
This apart, the company also predicts that web evolution will provide cybercriminals with extended opportunities to develop new hacking programs. The company has also found through research and warns that banking Trojans, which has already advanced in 2009, will become even more sophisticated in 2010 and easily get around existing protections used by banks. Even McAfee research shows that internet hackers are expected to attack Adobe and Flash applications in 2010.
After discussing all these negative impact of cybercrime in 2010, McAfee has provided some comfort in stating that international law enforcement agencies have undertaken strong measures against cybercrime. McAfee Labs has seen considerable progress in the universal effort to identify, track and combat cybercrime by governments worldwide. McAfee believes that in 2010 the strict law enforcement against cyber criminals will help contain this crime to a larger extent.