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Security threats for 2006

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CIOL Bureau
Updated On
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IT security is one of the major concern of enterprises, whether big or small.

While staying ignorant would have done in the past, ignorance is 'no more'

bliss at least in the world of IT. One needs to stay constantly updated with the

security trends, solutions as well as emerging threats.

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According to UK based security research firm Information

Risk Management
, security threats in the year 2006 would become more

organised and would be targeted towards specific companies for financial gains.

Crossover Viruses

Crossover virsues can be defined as viruses that can transfer from one

electronic media to another that is from a laptop to a PDA to a mobile phone

etc. The first crossover virus 'Cardtrp' was detected in September 2005 and

could spread via bluetooth and MMS. Crossover virus attack is expected to be

more prevalent in the year 2006, because of a tremendous increase in the use of

mobile devices and lack of sophisticated antivirus tools for them, says the

research firm.

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Trojans and Viruses

Viruses and trojans have been the most common security threats. Year 2006,

will see the emergence of cross-site scripting (XSS) viruses. XSS viruses are

platform independent and cannot be blocked by firewalls. Internet users will be

most affected by this kind of attacks, says Information Risk Management.

The probable solution to these attacks is deployment of signature-based

intrusion detection systems, to the extent that they become a necessary element

of the basic security software, like firewalls and antivirus tools.

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Targeted Attacks

Hackers and security solutions providers have always been in a rat race with

each other. Increase in security threats has lead to the development of powerful

security solutions and a much more aware end user. Information Risk Management

expects a change in the hacker gameplan, and 2006 will see an increase in

targeted attacks.

Financial gain would be the main motive of hackers and they will strike with

more sophisticated attacks, says the research firm. While email and website

continue to remain as the most popular delivery mechanisms, keylogging can also

be used extensively. The research firm stresses on a robust internal security

system and security awareness training to keep customized attacks at bay.

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Voice Spam

Tired of email spamming? Beware voice spam. With VoIP (Voice over Internet

Protocol) becoming a popular means of communication voice spamming is sure to

strike, says Information Risk Management.

VoIP based applications are expected to rise in the coming year and its

promoters cannot ignore the security issues associated with it. There is threat

of calls getting redirected or hijacked by advertisers. In light of all these

possibilities players in the VoIP sector have to put their act together and come

out with robust security solutions for a widespread acceptance of voice

services.

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