2005 Attack Trends: Beyond The Numbers - Bruce Schneier
For those that like to collect statistics...
Counterpane CTO, author and computer/network security blogger Bruce Schneier has published 2005 Attack Trends: Beyond The Numbers (61 KB PDF, click here to download, registration required).
In a nutshell, more attacks are being borne out of a desire for profit instead of simple curiosity. Indeed, after the technology industry, financial firms are next most popular target.
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Over the past few years, we have seen hacking transform from a hobbyist activity to a criminal one. Hobbyist threats included defacing web pages, releasing worms that did damage, and running denialof- service attacks against major networks. The goal was fun, notoriety, or just plain malice. The new criminal attacks have a more focused goal: profit. This difference makes the new attackers more dangerous and potentially more damaging.
A quick read, but chock full of graphs and analysis thanks to the 500 networks the company monitors. Another tidbit:
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Romania has been one of the known locations for organized crime organizations. (As an interesting side note, biohealth and manufacturing companies seem to be particularly vulnerable to the Zotob worm.)
Does it jive with what you're witnessing?
