Virus-Infected Bot Networks on Increase, Company Warns
Posted on: Friday, 23 September 2005, 00:00 CDT
Sep. 22--For rent: One bot network, fully programmed to e-mail out fake Viagra ads or attack your competitor's computer system.
In a new report, security software maker Symantec said computer pirates ran an average of 10,352 bot networks each day during the first six months of the year.
Those networks, made up of virus-infected computers seized by network pirates, often are rented to unscrupulous e-mail marketers. In some cases, they are rented to launch denial-of-service attacks on a corporate network.
In its semiannual Internet Security Threat Report, Symantec researchers said bot networks increased by 140 percent between late December and the end of June.
The report found that those controlling bot networks and "custom bot code" were renting them out or selling them outright.
The report spotted other troubling trends.
-- Phishing -- e-mails designed to trick computer users into giving up bank account and other personal financial information -- was up 100 percent.
Phishing messages grew from 2.99 million a day to 5.70 million, Symantec said. The company said one of every 125 e-mail messages during the first half of the year was a phishing attempt.
-- Symantec said 1,862 new computer vulnerabilities were spotted during the first six months of the year. Almost all were considered to be moderate or serious threats. The vulnerability number was the highest ever recorded by Symantec, and up 109 percent from a year ago.
-- Symantec reported 10,866 new viruses and worms aimed at computers running on the Microsoft Windows platform, up 142 percent from a year ago.
-- So much for the "can spam" act. Symantec said 61 percent of all e-mail is spam, and just over half of all spam originates in the United States.
-- Finally, Symantec is predicting that the next major targets of computer pirates will be wireless networks and Voice over Internet Protocol phone services.
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Source: The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Missouri)
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