Surge in Smartphone Spam; Government Sponsored Cyber-Attacks; Zeus, SpyEye and Blackhole Toolkit Continue to Dominate the Malware World
GULF BREEZE, FL — July 11, 2012 —
AppRiver, LLC, a leading provider of email messaging and Web
security solutions, today released its mid-year Threat and
Spamscape report, a detailed summary and analysis of spam and
malware trends traced between January and June 2012.
During the first half of 2012, there was a significant uptick in
virus-laden messages. At the start of 2012, for example,
AppRiver stopped email-borne virus and malware activity at a rate
of about five million messages per month. That figure spiked
to 40 million malicious messages in April 2012.
"We have noticed an increase in both the volume and the quality
of emails with malicious URLs," said Fred Touchette, senior
security analyst at AppRiver. "Not only are there more of them,
they are also using more sophisticated graphics that look very
similar to the graphics of their legitimate counterparts. This
makes it much easier to trick people into revealing their personal
information such as bank account numbers."
In a new video available at www.appriver.com, Touchette and
fellow AppRiver Security Analyst Troy Gill discuss highlights from
the mid-year
Threat and Spamscape report, including:
- A Surge in Smartphone Spam: With smartphone
use on the rise, spammers are using text messaging
to trick smartphones users into clicking on malicious links or
responding to them. Similar to the nefarious practice called, "Pay
Per Install," text spammers try to lure users into installing
software and then make money off each installation and/or steal
personal information.
- Zeus Continues its Reign: Campaigns purporting
to be banking security updates continue to target email
users. Earlier this month, Zeus donned a new avatar to dupe
unsuspecting recipients. This new version of the Trojan conveyed a
"Credit Notification" from Wells Fargo informing recipients that
their accounts had been credited $11,000.00. To convince users of
its legitimacy, the authors attached details of the transaction in
a file suitably named "transaction&details.zip." Once executed,
the attachment embedded itself on the victim's machine and stole
bank credentials.
- Blackhole Toolkit Gaining Traction: In
addition to Zeus, the Blackhole crime toolkit quickly made its way
among the heavy hitters during the first half of 2012. Sold on the
underground forums for cheap, the Blackhole toolkit is readily
available and can be leveraged to create a foothold by installing
the Zeus Trojan on many machines.
- Cyber Warfare No Longer in the Dark: In the
wake of Stuxnet and Duqu worm discoveries, another very complex
piece of code was recently discovered that targeted the Middle East
and North Africa. The virus, dubbed "Flame," marked a new era
in cyber warfare demonstrating how unique, hard-to-detect
cyberweapons can be successfully deployed against nation
states.
For a full copy of AppRiver's Threat and Spamscape
report, please visit:
http://www.appriver.com/resources/spam-and-threatscape-reports/july2012.aspx.
About AppRiver
AppRiver is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provider offering
award-winning email and Web security solutions to businesses of all
sizes. Understanding the need to protect networks from today's
increasingly complex IT threats, AppRiver offers businesses a
comprehensive, yet affordable subscription-based solution that
incorporates the latest spam and virus protection, email encryption
and Web security on the market. In addition, the company provides a
complete managed service for Microsoft Exchange, as well as a
bundled Office 365 solution. Since its inception, AppRiver has
sustained an impressive 93% customer retention rate while growing
its customer base to more than 45,000 companies and over 8 million
mailboxes worldwide. The company maintains offices in Florida, New
York and Switzerland, and is led by an Ernst & Young Florida
Entrepreneur of the Year award winner. For more information,
please visit www.appriver.com.