SANTA CLARA, Calif–(BUSINESS WIRE)–McAfee today released the“McAfee Threats Report: Fourth Quarter 2010,” revealing a steadygrowth of threats to mobile platforms. The number of pieces of newmobile malware in 2010 increased by 46 percent compared with 2009.The report also uncovered 20 million new pieces of malware in 2010,equating to nearly 55,000 new malware threats every day. Of thealmost 55 million total pieces of malware McAfee Labs hasidentified, 36 percent was created in 2010. Concurrently, spamaccounted for 80 percent of total email traffic in Q4 2010, thelowest point since the first quarter of 2007.

“Our 'Q4 Threats Report' shows that cybercriminals are keepingtabs on what's popular, and what will have the biggest impact fromthe smallest effort,” said Vincent Weafer, senior vice president ofMcAfee Labs. “In the past few quarters, malware trends have beenvery similar in different geographies, but in the last quarterwe've seen a significant shift in various regions, showing thatcybercriminals are tapped in to trends worldwide. McAfee Labs alsosees the direct correlation between device popularity andcybercriminal activity, a trend we expect to surge in 2011.”

Botnet Infections Increase

Threats to mobile platforms are not new. However, as moreconsumers use mobile devices and tablets in their daily lives andat work, cybercriminals have taken note. During the last severalyears, McAfee Labs has seen a steady growth in the number ofthreats to mobile devices. Some of the most interesting mobilethreats of Q4 2010 were SymbOS/Zitmo.A and Android/Geinimi.SymbOS/Zitmo.A was a high-profile threat that struck early in thequarter. The creators of the Zeus botnet repurposed an old versionof a commercial spyware package. Android/Geinimi, a Trojan insertedinto legitimate mobile applications and games for the Androidplatform, was one of the most important threats of the quarter.

With the adoption of so many new mobile platforms, combined withthe lack of security awareness and mobile safeguards, McAfee Labsexpects cybercriminals to use botnet infections to target mobiledevices. In Q4 2010, Cutwail was dethroned as the global leader inbotnet activity, with Rustock the most prevalent in many parts ofthe world, and Bobax closely trailing behind the two.

Malware on the Rise

The onslaught of malware seems to have no end, and theproliferation of both handled and IP-enabled devices' affect onthis growth remains to be seen. The top malware threats in Q4 2010were very different in various geographies, due in part to thelarger trend that threats now tend to match the types of users,habits and events that are specific to a region. Favorites forcybercriminals worldwide this quarter consisted of AutoRun malware(Generic!atr), banking Trojans and downloaders (PWS or Generic.dx),as well as web-based exploits (StartPage and Exploit-MS04-028).

Spam hitting its lowest levels in years can be attributed to a“transition period,” with several botnets going dormant during atime of year when spam volumes are usually on an upward path. InQ4, McAfee Labs learned the Bredolab botnet had been closed alongwith parts of the Zeus botnet. Around the Christmas holiday, spamfrom the Rustock, Lethic, and Xarvester botnets all disappeared,while the spam leaders this quarter were the Bobax and Grumbotnets.

More Devices, More Threats

As more users access the Internet from an ever-expanding pool ofdevices–computer, tablet, smartphone or Internet TV–web-basedthreats will continue to grow in size and sophistication. In Q4,some of the most active threats included Zeus-Murofet, Confickerand Koobface, and the number of potentially malicious domains grewat a rapid pace. Phishing URLs in the form of the IRS, gift cards,rewards accounts, and social networking accounts were also amongthe most popular. McAfee Labs found that within the top 100 resultsof the top daily search terms, 51 percent led to malicious sites,and on average each of these poisoned results pages contained morethan five malicious links. McAfee Labs expects attacks using thetechniques of search-engine abuse and trend abuse to focus morespecifically on new types of devices in 2011.

Adobe Product Vulnerabilities

In 2009, McAfee Labs predicted that vulnerabilities in Adobeproduct would become the clear choice of malware authors andcybercriminals for distribution malware and compromising systemsand networks. This prediction has come true. Throughout 2010malware developers have heavily exploited weaknesses in both Flashand especially PDF technologies. McAfee Labs databases reveal thatmalicious PDFs targeting Adobe Acrobat topped the number of uniquesamples by a wide margin, making them the favorite target ofclient-side exploitation. McAfee Labs is certain that the “Adobe”trend will continue this year, as more mobile devices andnon-Microsoft operating systems support various Adobetechnologies.

Hacktivism Gains Traction

The main hacktivist actor in Q4 2010 was the “Anonymous”activist group. Its members engaged in various cyberdemonstrationsagainst copyright protection groups early in the quarter andagainst WikiLeaks censors and detractors later in the quarter. Theboundary between hacktivism and cyberwarfare continues to blur. Formore information, clickhere.