Cyber threats to Increase in 2012: Report

One of the major threats is the expected increase of attacks against mobile web browsers

PTI | October 13, 2011



More and increasingly sophisticated cyber threats are expected in 2012, according to a new report.

The report released yesterday by the Georgia Tech Information Security Center and the Georgia Tech Research Institute, several specific threats that experts and researchers believe will be more prevalent next year.

One of the major threats is the expected increase of attacks against mobile web browsers.

The other two threats for next year are Search Poisoning and Stolen Cyber Data Use for Marketing.

Mustaque Ahamad, Director of the Georgia Tech Information Security Center, says some applications downloaded onto smart phones and other mobile web devices could pose a significant threat.

"It's possible that it takes your contact information, your location, if you're doing mobile banking your financial institution credentials and things like that, so there are all kinds of possibilities."

Ahamad says mobile-web device users need to be aware of the risk before downloading applications.

"You just don't download any app onto to your phone. You have to do some due-diligence before you decide to run that."

"If we are going to prevent motivated adversaries from attacking our systems, stealing our data and harming our critical infrastructure, the broader community of security researchers?including academia, the private sector and government?must work together to understand emerging threats and to develop proactive security solutions to safeguard the Internet and physical infrastructure that relies on it."

The report also says attackers are expected to increasingly use techniques to make it more likely for internet users to click on malicious links when visiting search engines.

Experts also believe botnets will capture private user information from social media platforms, and that information will be sold to businesses.

The report was released at the annual Georgia Tech Cyber Security Summit.
 

Comments

 

Other News

The 7% growth problem: Why the next 7% will be harder

India has become accustomed to hearing the 7% growth number. It is now less a milestone than an expectation. Yet the paradox is becoming clearer: maintaining 7% growth may be considerably harder than achieving it once. India’s real GDP grew 7.7% in FY2025–26, following growth of 6.5% in FY202

The Constitution cannot be altered: Justice Abhay Oka

Justice Abhay Oka, who retired from the Supreme Court in May 2025, has said that the Constitution of India cannot be altered. Explaining the landmark Kesavananda Bharati judgment (1973) on the basic structure of the Constitution, he said, “This is one judgment that has saved democracy in India.&rdq

How the flora and fauna evolved in the Indian subcontinent

Mammals of India  By A.J.T. Johnsingh and P.O. Nameer HarperCollins India in association with Bombay Natural History Society  

India`s renewable race is moving beyond megawatts

When Shell bought Sprng Energy in 2022, India`s renewable energy market appeared to offer precisely what global energy majors were seeking: scale, growth and a place in one of the world`s largest energy transitions. Four years later, Shell is selling the same business to Aditya Birla Group for an enterpris

Nepal Floods: India keeps close watch on the situation

India`s central government has been keeping a close watch on the situation arising out of the flash flood in Nepal on Wednesday. Union home minister Amit Shah spoke with the chief ministers of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, the two states that share the border with Nepal, regarding the disaster

UPI completes 10 years of digital payments revolution

The Unified Payments Interface (UPI), launched on August 25, 2016 by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) under the regulatory oversight of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has completed 10 years of transforming digital payments in India. UPI has emerged as the backbone of India’s digi

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter