Java and Abobe Highly Targeted By Cyber Bad Guys and Malware
Software vulnerabilities will be the main target of cyber criminals in 2013, according to research by Panda Security's malware laboratory, PandaLabs. Java and Adobe in particular will prove points of emphasis for both cyber criminals and intelligence agencies in countries around the world.
"In 2012, we saw how Java, which is installed on hundreds of millions of devices, was repeatedly compromised and used to actively infect millions of users. In second place is Adobe, as given the popularity of its applications (Acrobat Reader, Flash, etc.) and its multiple security flaws, it is one of the favorite tools for massively infecting users as well as for targeted attacks," PandaLabs said.
Unfortunately, security issues will pop up at nearly every turn. Due to the rise in popularity of social networking sites, you can expect the bad guys to focus their efforts on places such as Facebook and Twitter, to name just two, where hundreds of millions of users exchange information. Interestingly, PandaLabs says you should pay close attention to rising threats on Skype, as it's replacing Messenger and could be a prime target as a result.
Mac users should be on their guard, too.
"Cases like Flashback, which occurred in 2012, have demonstrated that not only is Mac susceptible to malware attacks but that there are also massive infections affecting hundreds of thousands of users," PandaLabs explains. "Although the number of malware strains for Mac is still relatively low compared to malware for PCs, we expect it to continue rising."
PandaLabs said that Mac users are overconfident in their platform of choice, and that could be the very reason why they end up infected in 2013.
"In 2012, we saw how Java, which is installed on hundreds of millions of devices, was repeatedly compromised and used to actively infect millions of users. In second place is Adobe, as given the popularity of its applications (Acrobat Reader, Flash, etc.) and its multiple security flaws, it is one of the favorite tools for massively infecting users as well as for targeted attacks," PandaLabs said.
Unfortunately, security issues will pop up at nearly every turn. Due to the rise in popularity of social networking sites, you can expect the bad guys to focus their efforts on places such as Facebook and Twitter, to name just two, where hundreds of millions of users exchange information. Interestingly, PandaLabs says you should pay close attention to rising threats on Skype, as it's replacing Messenger and could be a prime target as a result.
Mac users should be on their guard, too.
"Cases like Flashback, which occurred in 2012, have demonstrated that not only is Mac susceptible to malware attacks but that there are also massive infections affecting hundreds of thousands of users," PandaLabs explains. "Although the number of malware strains for Mac is still relatively low compared to malware for PCs, we expect it to continue rising."
PandaLabs said that Mac users are overconfident in their platform of choice, and that could be the very reason why they end up infected in 2013.
