Sophos Cloud Optix
Earlier this week, we published the Sophos Security Threat Report 2008, looking at some of the key events in the field of computer security that we’ve seen over the past 12 months and making some predictions about the future.
The report has ruffled a few feathers online, with debates firing off on sites like Slashdot and The Register around the number of infected webpages we see hosting malware (In 2007, we saw around 6000 new infected pages each day – that’s a mind-boggling one every 14 seconds).
One of the most interesting developments in 2007 was the arrival of financially-motivated malware for the Macintosh. This is important because it has been money that has been driving the huge growth of Windows-based malware in recent years. If the bad guys are now investigating doing something similar on Apple Macs, that could mean more attacks on a platform that many home users have hardly bothered defending in the past. Of course, any debate of Apple Macintosh security is bound to bring a variety of different opinions out of the woodwork – you’ll see conflicting views in the comments posted on this story on The Register, for example.
The report isn’t all about Apple Macs and web-based attacks, of course. We also examine the top malware threats assaulting businesses today, the impact that the Storm worm continues to have on the internet, the mysterious topic of government-sponsored cyberwarfare, the issues surrounding data leakage and how increased adoption of Wi-Fi devices like the iPhone, iPod Touch and Asus Eee might influence the threat landscape in the future.
Feel free to enter the debates on the Slashdot and Register websites – it’s always healthy to have a hearty discussion of the security landscape, and hopefully it will mean a few people will take security more seriously in 2008!