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2007 security threat predictions

November 29, 2006 › Sandy McMurray | comment

McAfee 's Avert Labs has released a list of predictions for the top security threats of 2007. After surveying the damage done this year, the big brains who spend their work hours sifting through spam, spyware, and other techno-junk have looked ahead.

What they see is not pretty.

Once you wade through the jargon -- deciphering terms like "polymorphism" and "parasitic infectors" -- the items on the threat list are mostly familiar faces. In fact, I think it's safe to describe the near-future of tech security this way: more of the same.

Here's what we can expect in 2007:
- more electronic junk mail (a.k.a. spam)
- more Web-based password theft (a.k.a. phishing)
- more identity theft (and data loss)
- more automated security attacks (e.g. bots and zombies)
- more "parasitic malware"
  (i.e. unwanted software that infects good software)
- more vulnerabilities will be found in computer systems
- more rootkits
- more adware
- new threats via video downloads
- new threats via "smart" cell phones

It's more than a little depressing that these computer annoyances generally seem to be getting worse, not better.

November 29, 2006 › Sandy McMurray | comment on this item

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