CYBERCRIMINALS have increased their focus in targeting individuals and organizations of all sizes to steal personal and financial information according to the security roundup report for the second quarter of 2012 released today by the global cloud security leader Trend Micro Incorporated. Among the examples of these increasingly focused attacks were the 142 million threats which were blocked from infecting small businesses as of the second quarter of 2012, an increase of 27 percent quarter on quarter. Trend Micro's report also outlines increasingly sophisticated attacks against individuals in the form of ATS attacks. Large organizations weren't exempt either: the IXSHE campaign showed cybercriminals stepping up their tactics to gain access to large multinational corporations without notice. In addition to these more targeted attacks, Trend Micro's report shows cybercriminals continuing to cast their net widely in large-scale attacks using newer, more lethal methods. Police Trojan Attacks and the Black Hole Exploit Kit continue to target desktop systems while newer platforms such as Android are seeing an unprecedented explosion in malicious apps. Social media wasn't exempt as cybercriminals jumped on the Pinterest bandwagon bringing tried-and-true scams to the latest social networking craze. "The reason why criminals are focusing their attacks on stealing personal data is simple. It's the sheer volume of people working from multiple devices that leaves them vulnerable to attacks," said Rik Ferguson, director of security research and communication, Trend Micro. "While Trend Micro has been integral in working with authorities to break up a number of cybercriminal rings over the last year, these cybercriminals have acquired new techniques and tools from collaborating with one another to accelerate their 'industry.' The fact is: business is booming for cybercrime and everyone needs to take notice." – SG
