The document is an introduction to the Symantec Internet Security Threat Report for 2011. Some key points: - Symantec blocked over 5.5 billion malware attacks in 2011, an 81% increase over 2010, with 403 million new malware variants created, a 41% rise. - More than 232.4 million identities were exposed in data breaches during the year. Targeted attacks, politically motivated attacks, and mobile threats increased significantly. - Government agencies were most targeted by email attacks while businesses faced advanced persistent threats. Phishing and spam activity also increased although spam fell as a percentage of total email. - Malware targeting Macs rose and mobile threats presented new risks as smartphone usage

1.
SYMANTEC
INTERENT
SECURITY
THREAT
SYMANTEC INTERNET
SECURITY THREAT
REPORT

2. Foreword
As
the
Secretary
General
of
the
International
Telecommunications
Union
(ITU),
it
gives
me
immense
pleasure
to
present
The
Internet
Security
Threat
Report
from
Symantec,
for
the
year
2011.
This
report,
made
available
by
the
ITU,
shall
be
the
forerunner
of
many
reports
that
I
aspire
to
put
forward
in
order
to
emphasize
the
importance
of
cybersecurity
in
this
era.
On
19th
May
2011,
through
its
public–private
partnership
with
Symantec,
ITU
reached
new
milestones
in
the
fight
against
cyber
threats,
further
strengthening
the
security
in
the
usage
of
ICTs.
ITU’s
ongoing
commitment
to
publish
Symantec
security
reports
aims
to
appraise
Member
States
of
the
rising
cyber
threats,
subsequently
creating
a
safer
and
more
secure
cyber
space
for
general
consumers,
businesses
and
most
significantly
children
and
youth
at
large.
The
Internet
Security
Threat
Report
volume
17,
published
in
May 2012
provides
an
overview
and
analysis
of
global
threat
activity
for
the
year
2011.
The
highlights
of
the
report
were:
§ Symantec
blocked
over
5.5
billion
malware
attacks
in
2011.
Malicious
attacks
increased
by
81%
compared
to
the
year
2010.
403
million
new
variants
of
malware
were
created
in
2011,
which
is
41%
more
compared
to
2010.
The
three
most
prevalent
malicious
programs
for
the
year
2011
were
Ramnit,
Sality.AE,
and
Bamital;
§ More
than
232.4
million
identities
were
exposed
overall
in
2011.
The
most
frequent
cause
for
data
breaches
was
theft
or
loss
of
a
medium
on
which
data
is
stored
or
transmitted;
§ Targeted
attacks,
politically
motivated
attacks,
data
breaches
and
attacks
on
certificate
authorities
were
prominent
and
increased
in
2011.
Government
and
Public
sector
organisations
were
the
most
targeted
by
email
attacks
in
the
year
2011,
while
a
rising
tide
of
advanced
targeted
attacks
also
puts
businesses
of
all
sizes
at
risk;
§ Spam
activity
fell
from
88.5%
in
2010
to
75.1%
in
2011.
Spammers
are
now
focusing
more
on
social
networking,
URL
shorteners
and
other
technologies
that
challenge
spam
blocking;
§ As
malicious
programs
targeting
Macs
was
on
the
rise,
this
trend
is
expected
to
continue
through
2012
as
the
codes
become
more
integrated
with
the
wider
web-­‐attack
toolkits;
§ Phishing
activity
continued
to
rise
for
the
year
2011.
Phishing
schemes
continued
to
use
major
events
to
entice
recipients;
§ As
the
sales
of
smartphones
rose,
mobiles
offer
new
opportunities
of
potentially
more
profitable
cybercrimes.
2011
has
thus
become
the
first
year
that
mobile
malware
presented
a
tangible
threat
to
enterprises
and
consumers,
with
an
increase
of
93.3%
in
mobile
space
vulnerabilities.
Moreover,
malware
authors
will
continue
to
explore
ways
to
attack
mobile
phones
and
tablets;
I
believe
the
information
presented
in
this
report
successfully
highlights
the
present
and
predicts
the
future
trends
in
cyber
threats.
Thanks
to
our
partnership
and
common
determination,
we
have
managed
to
raise
awareness
and
control
cyber
risks
to
a
great
extent.
This
information
lays
emphasis
on
the
potential
cyber
threats
and
the
areas
with
scope
for
improvement
and
further
facilitates
the
creation
of
a
more
protected
and
reliable
cyber
space.
Dr.
Hamadoun
I.
Touré
Secretary-­‐General,
ITU