The Aladdin Attack Intelligence Research Center Aladdin Attack Intelligence Research Center has released its Annual Threat Report, a compilation of research and trend analysis surrounding the state of Web security worldwide. The report outlines vulnerabilities, evolving Web applications, and the maturation and adaptations of the business models of eCrime.
In the report, Aladdin lists its Top 3 Predictions for 2009. According to Ian Amit, director of security research at Aladdin, there will be a lot more "good guys" going bad, browsers will compete with operating systems, and the value of your online identity will increase. The top three Aladdin predictions for 2009 are:
eCrime. The continued global economic crisis, a real-estate market in free fall, and challenging job market combine to give the business of eCrime a boost. In 2008 eCrime developed into a sophisticated business that models a "legitimate" organizational structure and its channels. Aladdin sees eCrime in 2009 thriving, bringing in more than the "classic" technical employees. eCrime will expand its business model and hiring reach to include the unemployed management level and financial industry professionals.
The browser is your new OS. In conjunction with the maturation of Web 2.0, Aladdin says that we're going to see a substantial change in the online experience as we know it. Google's Chrome is proving that with the right combination of "optimized" Web 2.0 technologies, the browser can evolve into a full-on operating system. With Google's Gears technologies already integrated, Aladdin expects that we'll see an Adobe-Air enabled browser that would offer a better Desktop-Web integration. And in 2009, says Aladdin, watch for more powerful OS browsers from the likes of Microsoft, and be prepared for the security challenges that go along with the continued evolution of the Web.
Identity theft goes social. With more professionals and businesses using social networking, the "value" of Web identities is soaring. Reconnaissance and business intelligence with tools such as Paterva's Maltego have become all too easy, and the sheer amount of public data on sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Bebo, and MySpace make it easier to impersonate, damage, or misrepresent a personal or business identity on the Web. Aladdin predicts that we will see a significant increase in the amount of Web identity hijacking, and in response, a serious change in the requirements for validating our identities on the Web.
