We are trapped in the web of malicious content

[nandagopal]

 Websense Inc, a provider security solutions, today revealed the findings from its bi-annual research report: Websense Security Labs, State of Internet Security, Q3-Q4 2008.

The report stated that 70 per cent of the top 100 most popular websites either host malicious content or contain a masked redirect to lure unsuspecting victims from legitimate sites to malicious sites, said a press release.

The top 100 most popular Websites, many of which are social networking, Web 2.0 and search sites, represent the majority of all Web page views and are the most popular target for attackers, it added.

In the second half of 2008, more than 77 per cent of the websites Websense classified as malicious were actually sites with seemingly "good" reputations that had been compromised by attackers.

The number of malicious websites identified by Websense Security Labs from January first 2008 through January first 2009 has increased by 46 percent, the release said.

The web continues to be the most popular vector for data-stealing attacks. In the second half of 2008 the Websense Security Labs found that 57 per cent of data-stealing attacks are conducted over the web, representing a 24 per cent increase over the six-month period, the release added.

Said Dan Hubbard, chief technology officer, Websense, "In the last six months criminals have really stepped up their game in a few notable areas. Spammers are increasingly using links to malicious Web sites and spam sites in their email campaigns to lure users and evade security systems that lack Web intelligence."

He added that they are also seeing an increase in cyber criminals taking advantage of the growing number of Web 2.0 properties that allow user generated content.
Source:CyberMedia News