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

Income Tax dept holds Ghatkopar Outreach on new IT Act

The Income Tax Department organised an outreach programme in Ghatkopar, Mumbai, to raise awareness about the key features of the Income Tax Act, 2025, effective April 1, 2026. The initiative is part of a nationwide effort to promote taxpayer awareness, simplify compliance, and strengthen a transparent, eff

Making AI work where governance is closest to people

India’s next governance leap may not solely come from digitisation. It will come from making public systems more intelligent, more adaptive, and more responsive to the dynamics at the grassroots. That opportunity is especially significant at the panchayat level, where governance is not an abstract po

Borrowing troubles: How small loans are quietly trapping youth

A silent crisis is playing out in the pocket of young India, not in stock markets or government treasuries, but in smartphones of college students and first-jobbers who clicked on the Apply Now button without reading the small print.  A decade ago, to take a loan, you had to do some paperwor

A 19th-century pilgrim’s progress

The Travels of a Sadhu in the Himalayas By Jaladhar Sen (Translated by Somdatta Mandal) Speaking Tiger Books, 259 pages, ₹499.00  

India faces critical shortage of skin donors amid rising burn cases

India reports nearly 70 lakh burn injury cases every year, resulting in approximately 1.4 lakh deaths annually. Experts estimate that up to 50% of these lives could be saved with adequate access to skin donations.   A significant concern is that around 70% of burn victims fall wi

Not just politics, let`s discuss policies too

Why public policy matters Most days, India`s loudest debates stop at the ballot box. We can name every major leader and recall every campaign slogan. Still, far fewer of us can explain why a widow`s pension is delayed or how a government school`s budget is actually approved. That


Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter