Spyware threats triple

The report, “Aladdin eSafe CSRT 2005 Malicious Code Report: The Big Threats Shift” found that the number of malicious threats rose from 1,083 in 2004 to 3,389 in 2005, representing a massive increase of more than 213 percent. The data was compiled by security company Aladdin's Content Security Response Team (CSRT).

The CSRT also found that number of trojans grew from 1,455 in 2004 to 3,521 in 2005, representing a 142-percent rise. The number all other malicious threats, such as viruses and worms, grew from 6,222 in 2004 to 9,713 in 2005, representing a 56-percent increase.

Shimon Gruper, vice president of technologies for the Aladdin eSafe Business Unit, said the increase in spyware was “a direct representation of the fast-growing network of organized criminals that empower themselves through computers rather than physical theft.”

“We continue to see a tremendous upswing in spyware and extremely vicious trojans that are truly causing havoc not only for unfortunate consumers, but also organizations. It serves as further evidence that electronic threats are becoming much less of a game and more of a concentrated effort designed to steal identities and data,” he said.