CA, Inc's latest report warns of a new level of cyber-crime potential as increasingly sophisticated attackers aim to steal intellectual property, personal identities and the contents of bank accounts across international borders, and within organizations and social networks.

The CA 2007 Internet Threat Outlook, which outlines the top cyber security threats for 2007, is based on data compiled by the CA Security Advisor Team. Predictions from the CA 2007 Internet Threat Outlook include:

1. Blended threats will continue to evolve: In addition to using spam to distribute trojans and other malware, attackers will increasingly use multi-phased exploits to take control of unsuspecting users’ computers, steal private information, and perpetrate other attacks.

In 2006, trojans accounted for 62 percent of all malware; worms accounted for 24 percent; and viruses and other types of malware accounted for the remaining 13 percent. With the advent of the WMF exploit for “drive-by” downloads, 2006 also marked the first year that a spyware variant used a zero-day exploit to take advantage of a vulnerability that was previously unknown to the general public.

2. Phishers will get smarter: Users should expect social engineering tactics to become more convincing and more effectively targeted at the knowledgeable user. Fake phishing emails with subjects such as “to verify your account” will be replaced by more clever attempts, such as worms disguised as “mail failure” notices.

3. Spam will increase: The last quarter of 2006 saw a huge increase in spam, largely because of image-based spam which can evade most anti-spam filters. Due to the low cost of sending mass spam – especially through botnets – cyber criminals will increasingly use this medium to distribute trojans.

4. Targeted attacks will increase: Criminals or disgruntled employees can use malware for corporate espionage or to steal intellectual property. For example, an employee’s home or office computer can be infected by visiting a pornography or gambling site where criminals have planted a keylogger or spyware to transmit salable information. Criminals also can use ransomware to “kidnap” a user’s data until the user is willing to pay for its release.

5. The rise of kernel rootkits: A rootkit is a cloaking technology that allows an intruder to hide malicious activity on a previously compromised machine. Using a rootkit, an attacker can hide malware such as backdoors, sniffers and keyloggers. The CA Security Advisor Team expects to see a rise in kernel rootkits, which are especially dangerous because they can be difficult to detect without appropriate software. Kernel rootkits add code or replace a portion of kernel code with modified code to hide a backdoor.

6. Increased exploitation of browser and application vulnerabilities beware: As cyber criminals find it harder to break through security defenses with traditional attacks, they will increasingly exploit vulnerabilities in Web browsers and applications. The release of new software versions will provide fertile ground for discovering new vulnerabilities.