Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Subscribe
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Subscribe
    Home Cybersecurity
    • Cybersecurity
    • Networking

    Security Vulnerabilities Old and New Plague Users in June

    Written by

    Brian Prince
    Published July 7, 2009
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.

      When it comes to cyber-crime, it’s not always about test driving the newest brand of malware on the road. Sometimes, it’s about Old Betsy, the reliable piece of malware that will get you from point A to point B – the final location being a compromised computer.

      Research in Fortinet’s June Threat Report underscores this point, even as it shows the number of new exploits continued to rise. Out of 108 newly reported vulnerabilities during this period, 62 were reported to be actively exploited, which represents an all-time high of 57.4 percent.

      Still, a look at the company’s top 10 exploits shows some of the most attacked vulnerabilities have been around for years. There’s a buffer overflow vulnerability affecting the Windows Messenger Service that goes back to 2003; a bug in Microsoft NAT Helper that dates back to 2006, and so on. As vulnerabilities age, their profile becomes higher and they make their way into script kiddies, noted Derek Manky, threat researcher at Fortinet.

      “Of course, the most high profile attack worth mentioning is still -MS.DCERPC.NETAPI32.Buffer.Overflow’, aka MS08-067, made notorious by Conficker,” he said. “This critical vulnerability still receives much attack traffic due to Conficker’s success with this security hole, with the likes of copy-cat worms and other attacks taking advantage of the same issue.”

      This falls in line with research from companies such as Microsoft, Secunia and Qualys, which has shown that users are often not up-to-date with the latest patches.

      When it comes to malware, the proliferation of malware kits has allowed some well-known pieces of malicious software to thrive. While the traditionally resilient Netsky worm was knocked out of Fortinet’s list of Top 10 malware, variants of the ZBot Trojan grabbed second and third place. ZBot was recently linked to a campaign that stole FTP credentials from several leading companies, including Symantec, McAfee and Amazon.

      The ZBot variants on Fortinet’s list were in high volume for a short period of time, as can be seen here.

      “This is very typical, since to launch such attacks often various botnets and increasingly other attack vehicles – think harvested accounts, social worms, etc. – are rented out on an hourly or daily basis,” Manky said. “So, this hit-and-run fashion is much different than a single campaign or botnet such as Virut…many of these attacks are launched through traditional malicious links, and Websites hosting the campaign’s freshly built binaries. Once these are taken down (domains, etc.), a new campaign will be launched.”

      In terms of location, the top five regions of the world ranked by distinct malware volume are as follows: United States, with 40.57 percent; Japan, at 35.61 percent; Taiwan, with 34.44 percent; China, with 27.74 percent; and India at 19.25 percent. France and the United States lead the way as far as spam received compared to global spam volume, with 17.11 percent and 12.11 percent, respectively.

      There was some good news for security researchers last month when rogue ISP 3FN was shutdown, but like reports from Google and MX Logic, Fortinet found the results were short-lived.

      “We saw a larger effect after McColo’s take-down partly because it was hosting C&C to Srizbi,” Manky noted. “There was an active effort to keep this spam botnet from re-connecting to its C&C servers as rendezvous domains generated by its zombies were registered (sink-holes) by white hats, thus keeping the threat at bay for a little longer until they eventually regained control and issued updates. To my knowledge, this didn’t happen with 3FN’s associated threats, which were associated with different groups.”

      Though shut down, 3FN might not have had the effect some expected, actions like that do have an impact, Manky said.

      “The more take-downs like this we achieve, certainly the more milestones we will reach,” he added. “However, cyber-criminals will constantly be on the run…there needs to be much more happening in parallel with these take-downs to really pull up beside the black hats in the arms race that we are knee-deep in today.”

      Brian Prince
      Brian Prince

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Artificial Intelligence

      9 Best AI 3D Generators You Need...

      Sam Rinko - June 25, 2024 0
      AI 3D Generators are powerful tools for many different industries. Discover the best AI 3D Generators, and learn which is best for your specific use case.
      Read more
      Cloud

      RingCentral Expands Its Collaboration Platform

      Zeus Kerravala - November 22, 2023 0
      RingCentral adds AI-enabled contact center and hybrid event products to its suite of collaboration services.
      Read more
      Artificial Intelligence

      8 Best AI Data Analytics Software &...

      Aminu Abdullahi - January 18, 2024 0
      Learn the top AI data analytics software to use. Compare AI data analytics solutions & features to make the best choice for your business.
      Read more
      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Video

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2024 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.