Stay in Lockstep with Cyber Criminals to Prevent Breaches

Top Five Emerging Malware Threats

There is one constant that we can count on in IT: Cyber criminals will always be one step ahead, coming up with new ways to breach our networks and exploit sensitive data.

A recent Kaspersky Lab report on Q3 threats, called “IT Threat Evolution: Q3 2012,” highlighted a few new trends that have just recently emerged. New, more aggressive botnets are showing signs of growth, and, not surprisingly, mobile malware is evolving. For example, SMS Trojans, which at one time made up the majority of mobile malware threats, are being replaced by more sophisticated Trojans that access and steal important data.

In her post on the topic, Sue Marquette Poremba emphasized the importance of not becoming complacent when it comes to malware and vulnerabilities. The IT Downloads library has a ton of tools to help you be proactive in your security efforts. Below are just a few to help you recognize these threats when they arrive at your doorstep, and to recover in the event that a machine becomes infected with a Trojan or virus.

Mitigation Strategies for Coreflood Trojan Botnets: US-CERT recommends organizations evaluate the following tactical and strategic mitigations to determine which mitigations they can leverage in their specific environments to minimize and prevent Coreflood Trojan infections.

Five Steps to Identify Phishing Messages: Spear phishing, a type of email spoof, targets individuals or departments within organizations and attempts to elicit a desired action that could install malware, compromise login names and passwords and steal data. Use Paul Mah’s simple checklist to spot potential phishing messages. Feel free to share this PDF with your coworkers or employees.

Recovering from a Trojan Horse or Virus: Once you know that your machine is infected with a Trojan Horse or virus (or if your machine is exhibiting unexpected behavior and you suspect that something is wrong), what can you do?