It's almost the end of 2013, we wish everyone a happy new year. AegisLab conventionally establishes some predictions for information security in 2014.

1. Encrypted communications for Botnet will become a normality
Since the computing ability of SoC processors, such as ARM CPU, has become more powerful over the years, the real-time encryption will be a common technique for Botnet communications. C&C servers of Botnet might adopt encrypted communications to evade detection for desktop or mobile devices.

2. 2014 FIFA World Cup related attacks
2014 FIFA World Cup is an extremely exciting event for millions of people around the world. Hackers might take this chance to perform social engineering, phishing, or watering hole attacks.

3. Which exploit will become Blackhole exploit kit's successor?
Many content management systems (CMS) suffer from Blackhole exploit kit's attack during the past years. Fortunately, the author of Blackhole exploit kit was arrested recently in Russia. We guess that one of Blackhole exploit kit's competitors, such as RedKit, Cool exploit kit, and Sakura exploit kit, might become the most popular threat in the next year. AegisLab will continue to pay attention to this matter.

4. Cyberwarfare was reaching its climax
In March 2013, North Korea's cyber-attacks resulted in the secret cyberwar be exposed. AegisLab also observed that many kinds of malware are against specific objects in the last year. We suggest our customers should pay more attention to this matter.

5. Attacks related to Windows XP/Office 2003
Microsoft announced that security updates and support for Windows XP/Office 2003 will no longer be available on April 8, 2014. However, Windows XP still has more than 30% of the PC market. We believe that hackers will employ those unknown weaknesses of Windows XP or Office 2003 to spread malware.

6. Smartphone malware threats might go beyond PC malware threats in 2014
According to the report published by AV-Test [1], smartphone malware has grown rapidly since the end of 2012. Smartphones usually contain users' private data and they can be used for user authentication or accessing financial services. Besides, the weaknesses of smartphones' firmware are difficult to be fixed. Since most people are not familiar with smartphone malware, it will result in more serious threats for smartphones' users in the near future.

[1] https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=664855850233873&set=a.539657639420362.1073741831.104433409609456&type=1

Transferred by Neko Lee

Follow