13 Mar 2009

Worsening economy 'increases security threat'

Businesses are becoming increasingly susceptible to security breaches as the economy worsens, according to an expert.

A new Annual Global Threat Report by industry security specialist ScanSafe reveals the number of Trojans stealing data increased by 1,559 per cent in last year, compared with 2007.

Increases in the number of jobs being lost and general uncertainty may be fuelling a surge in illegal activity, claims Mary Landesman, senior security researcher at the firm.

She comments: "It is also likely that cybercrime is proving to be a viable business opportunity in a climate where legitimate opportunities are becoming increasingly more limited."

Ms Landesman adds that web-delivered malware increased significantly in 2008, reaching peaks in October and November.

In other findings from the report, the number of exploits and iframes, which are elements used to embed malicious html in vulnerable sites, rose by 1,731 per cent in the same period.

According to Isabella Sankey, director of policy at independent fundamental rights organisation Liberty, any sensitive data which is stored must be effectively secured to ensure it cannot be stolen or misused.