No person has the cosmic power to predict the next waves in network securities. Still, every industry in network security will do their best just assess the risks and impact of cyber threats to every Internet user. It is a necessity because it is important to be ahead in mounting the right defenses against the onslaught of cyber criminals. Perhaps, the only reason that provides great troubles to the network security industry is the constant evolution of IT, attack vectors and also the threat itself.
Each year, the threat of botnets will continue to flourish because botnet authors are continuous in their criminal attempts in infecting various computers in the Internet. But because of the number of botnet operators in the criminal underground, the competition will become tougher. Thus, botnet operators will demonstrate their prowess to prove that they should be employed. The most common way in demonstrating a botnet’s capabilities is implementing DDoS attacks on certain targets given by potential clients. Sometimes, the competition becomes personal when one author will invade another botnet and infect it, joining the botnet to his existing botnet or perhaps initiate a penetration testing, on an existing network with a hidden agenda of installing his own malware for initiation of botnet.
Phones nowadays have high connectivity and these hand-held devices are oasis waiting for a malware writer. Even if these devices do not have the abilities to crunch large amounts of bits and data, crooks have found ways to exploit these devices. Instead, accomplishing large amount of tasks in one seating, crooks are patient enough to take one step at a time with mobile phones. Perhaps, the most tempting device is the smart phones because these devices are synchronized with the users’ computer so that they have better access to their email, contacts as well as their work documents and important data. This creates a possibility of infecting both the device and computer at the same time.
Fake or rogue anti-virus software are most unlikely to disappear in the next few years. Indeed, AV software is the basic defenses against the threats of network security, but because of its important role, fraudsters didn’t fail to exploit this. Fraudsters targeting potential victims will send false alarms to the victim’s software or perhaps initiate false pen test and tell the victims that their software is exposed to many vulnerabilities. They will then offer their false AV software on a small fee or sometimes for free. The fraudulent activity appears legit because these frauds will provide invoice and customer support. If a victim calls customer support, then he or she will begin a new stage of fraudulent transactions with these frauds.
Social networking sites are not safe against the threats of network security. Frauds and scams are always waiting in the horizon. Because of the social media’s environment, connectivity and sharing, fraudsters are given a tempting opportunity where they can interact with many people and create openings where they can exploit for their own gain. Social media is an interesting situation because there are millions of users joining these websites to share links, images and any other media content. On the other hand, the provided code used in interacting with another network is easy to use in developing application or perhaps manipulating different profiles. It is the perfect paradise for fraudsters.
They say that with the appearance of social networking sites, spam in emails will be decrease. That is entirely wrong because as long as there are people using emails and people who are not cautious in the emails they receive, spam will continue. Fraudsters wouldn’t suddenly change their tactic if they know that it is working for them. Instead, spam will move on to social media and expand on other platforms in the Internet.
Social networking sites will become a powerful tool for these fraudsters found in the Internet. They could use the information of an individual and use it to initiate phishing, spear phishing or whaling attacks. Cyber criminals can use these informations in crafting personalized messages that could possibly fool a victim.
No company relishes the possibility of breaches in their network security. Identifying the future risks of cyber threats will be used in building better defenses and better training against them like penetration testing training.
The International Council of E-Commerce Consultants (EC-Council) is a member-based organization that certifies individuals in cybersecurity and e-commerce. It is the owner and developer of 20 security certifications. EC-Council has trained over 90,000 security professionals and certified more than 40,000 members. These certifications are recognized worldwide and have received endorsements from various government agencies. They also offer trainings in penetration testing.
information about EC-Council is available at www.eccouncil.org.
