Cyber Espionage is on the Rise...

As the New Year is amongst us, we need to look at new threats from abroad and how malware plays a critical role in these new threats. There have been a record number of spear phishing attacks that are successful now more then ever. According to the famous SANS Institute, There is plenty of evidence that cyber attackers are turning their attention to espionage in both the public and private sectors. The US government has reported what appear to be systematic attacks on computer systems at research laboratories across the country. Private companies have been targeted as well. The IP addresses used in the attacks make them appear to come from China; whether or not that is where the attacks are originating, China seems not to be taking any steps to thwart the attacks. Evidence indicates that the attackers are focused and persistent, attacking the same place hours after hour, day after day. The attacks are sophisticated as well - they do not contain the usual errors associated with small-time hacking groups. In addition, a recent New Yorker article profiling US Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell reports that the US Defense Department detects approximately two million suspicious probes on its network every day; the State Department also detects approximately two million such probes every day. (Article Courtesy of SANS)