Approximately 7.5% of US adults lost money as a result of some sort of financial fraud in 2008, in large part because of data breaches, according to Gartner. Payment card fraud (credit, debit and ATM card fraud) was the method most actively used by crooks to steal money, claiming 36% more victims in 2008 than other types of fraud. Gartner found that financial losses were highest in the case of new-account, credit card and brokerage fraud, with average losses per incident totaling $1,097, $929 and $900, respectively. However, victims of brokerage, credit card and debit/ATM card account fraud find it easiest to recover their losses, receiving an average of 100%, 86%, and 77% of the funds stolen, respectively.
42% of organizations reported unauthorized access to their Active Directory
Imanami commissioned a survey with Osterman Research to understand the issues related to managing groups in Active Directory, and found that 42% of organizations reported unauthorized access to information from active directory. 44% of the respondents have received an email sent to a distribution list that used to be relevant to their job but is no longer. Group management for Active Directory takes on average 5.8 hours per 1,000 users a week to manage.
Top concerns regarding cloud computing services
| Activities of cloud computing services you’d be concerned about | Very | Somewhat | Not too | Not at all |
| Sold your files to others | 90% | 5% | 2% | 3% |
| Used your photos and other information in marketing campaigns |
80 | 10 | 3 | 6 |
| Analyzed your information and then displayed ads to you that are based on what you have in the those files |
68 | 19 | 6 | 7 |
| Kept a copy of your files even if you try to delete them |
63 | 20 | 8 | 8 |
| Gave law enforcement agencies your files when asked to do so |
49 | 15 | 11 | 22 |
| Source: Pew Internet Project | ||||
UK cybercrime up 9% in 2007
UK cybercrime rose by more than 9% in 2007, according to Garlick. 3.5 mln online crimes were committed in the UK in 2007. There was an 8% drop in online identity theft and sexual offences fell 2%.
US managed security services market grew 19.6% in 2007
The US managed security services market was valued at approximately $1.3 bln in 2007, an increase of 19.6% over 2006. This figure is expected to increase to $2.8 bln by 2012, representing a compound annual growth rate of 17.2%, according to IDC.
21% of CIOs expect their security budgets to increase
21% of Forrester survey respondents expect to increase their IT security budgets in 2009, while nearly three-quarters of those surveyed expect no cutbacks in their security spending. Only 6% of respondents anticipate having to cut their security budget 2009 despite the current economic uncertainty. Security makes up 10% of overall IT operating budgets in 2008, up from 8% in 2007. Nearly 50% of respondents report to a board/CEO or an executive committee. Security is no longer embedded within IT. Data protection is critical. More than half of respondents said that protecting corporate IP and customer data was their top priority for the next 12 months. Companies are realizing the significance of having business continuity and disaster recovery plans in place. 42% of respondents said it was very important, up from 33% from 2007.
US online households pay 11 bills a month online
63.1 mln US households are paying their bills online rather than writing paper checks, according to Fiserv. 13% of respondents cited online security as the top reason for not using the online bill payment service, down from 17% in the 2007 survey. Overall, online security ranked third among barriers to online bill payment adoption 2008, compared to its number-one ranking in 2007. The primary barrier (15%) in the new study was “I don’t know enough about how it works.” 31 mln households are using online banking websites to pay bills, 47.9 mln households are using biller websites and 16 mln are using both online banking and biller sites to receive and pay bills. 63.1 mln of Internet-using households pay at least one bill online in an average month, up from 61 mln in the 2007 survey. These households collectively paid 934 mln bills in a typical month, according to the survey results. Online bill payments made at both bank and biller websites rose to 42% of the total volume of household bill payments made each month, up from 39% in the 2007 survey. Online bill payment adoption has significantly grown since the 2002 survey, when only 14% reported paying their bills online.
Internet-using households pay an average of 11 bills per month. Consumers use an average of three different ways to pay bills, with online, check, automatic debit and in-person topping the list of popular bill payment methods. Online bill payments at bank and biller websites comprised 42% of total monthly payments, followed by 31% of bills paid by check. 51% of survey respondents cited the environment as a reason why they chose to view and pay bills online. Of these, 72% identified paper and clutter reduction as chief benefits, followed by tree conservation (19%) and reduction in gas consumption (16%). Saving time and gaining control over their finances were major online bill payment benefits cited by 44% of respondents.
74% of all e-mail in Q2 2008 was spam
In Q2 2008, 74% of all mail received was spam. In Q2 2008, Turkey became the country with most zombie computers (11% of the global total), followed by Brazil (8.4%) and Russia (7.4%). The USA, which in the Q1 2008 accounted for 5% of all zombies, is now in ninth place with just 4.3% of the total. Google Adwords has been at the center of one of the most notable attacks over the last quarter, PandaLabs says. This Google service had been used previously to launch phishing attacks and the trend continues. This type of attack uses social engineering to trick users into revealing confidential details (bank account numbers, passwords, etc.).
Virtualization growth rising from 46% in 2007 to 54% in 2008
The pace of adoption of virtualized servers is incredibly rapid among organizations that are using virtualization, with 35% of servers purchased in 2007 being virtualized and 52% of those bought in 2008 expected to be so. 54% of those not using virtualization expect to do so in the next 18 months. Growth of virtualization as a strategy remains strong, rising from 46% of the base to 54%, according to IDC.
Total spending in network services to reach $9.1 bln in 2012 in Asia
According to IDC, over 70% of respondents in markets such as Australia, China, and India indicated that solutions pertaining to the network were either important or very important. Total spending in Network services (which includes Network Consulting & Integration Services (NCIS) and Network Management (NM)) will grow from $4.7 bln in 2007 to $9.1 bln in 2012 at a compound annual growth rate of 13.7% from 2007-2012. This bids well for companies such as IBM, HP, and Dimension Data (including Datacraft), ranked by IDC as the top players (in terms of revenue) in APEJ for the calendar year 2007.
$8.5 bln lost to viruses and spyware in 2006-2007
US consumers lost almost $8.5 bln over the last two years to viruses, spyware, and phishing schemes. Consumer Reports estimates that American consumers have replaced about 2.1 mln computers over the past two years because of online threats. Consumers have 1 in 6 chance of becoming a cybervictim, down from 1 in 4 in 2007. Spyware and virus infections have also declined significantly over the past few years. Consumer Reports projects that problems they cause have resulted in damages of roughly $6.5 bln over the past two years. Consumer Reports also estimates that 3.5 mln U.S. households with broadband remain unprotected by a firewall.
Australian identity and access management market generated $89.4 mln in 2007
According to IDC the identity and access management (IAM) market in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) was valued at $89.4 mln in 2007. The market is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.1% to reach $189.3 mln by 2012.
32% of North American SMBs have been hit by cybercrime numerous times
32% of small and medium businesses in the United States and Canada have been attacked more than four times by cybercriminals in the last three years, MCAfee said. 26% of those attacked took at least a week to recover, a devastating length of time to be offline for small businesses who conduct business and sales via the Web. Recovery time in Canada was even greater, with a third (36%) taking a week or more to fully restore their systems. 44% think cybercrime is only an issue for larger organizations and believe it does not affect them. 52% of businesses believe that because they are not well-known so cybercriminals will not specifically target them. Almost half (45%) do not think they are a ‘valuable target’ for cybercriminals. 46% do not think they can be a source of profit for cybercriminals. SMBs may not be as safe from security attacks as they think. 88% of respondents believed they were ‘adequately protected,’ yet 43% of them admitted that they simply accept the default settings on their IT equipment, settings which are often not in line with their specific business needs.
Total spending in network services will grow to $9.1 bln in 2012
According to IDC, total spending in Network services (which includes Network Consulting & Integration Services (NCIS) and Network Management) will grow from $4.7 bln in 2007 to $9.1 bln in 2012 at a compound annual growth rate of 13.7% from 2007-2012.
Malware rates up 278% in the first half of 2008
Malware has risen by 278% in the first half of 2008, thanks to the large number of websites comprised last month, according to ScanSafe. Trojans are the most commonly blocked malware, they increased from 4% of malware in January 2008 to 27% in June 2008.
51% of Americans write down their online passwords
88% of people interviewed in the US and the UK by Accenture said personal irresponsibility is the key cause of identity theft and fraud. 70% of respondents in the UK said they don’t write down their passwords, versus 49% in the US.
45% of US employers monitor employee computer usage and keystrokes
In 2001 19% of US employers told ePolicy institute they were monitoring time logged on and keystrokes. In 2005, it was 36%. In 2007 that number had grown to 45%.
66% of US employees write down passwords in unsafe places
US workers, managers, and IT staffs alike are increasingly confronted with difficulties arising from computer passwords, eMedia found. Over half of all respondents said the average employee in their firms are required to remember three to five passwords, with an additional 26% saying the number ranges from six to ten or more. 49% responded that employees are required to use passwords more than 25 times per week, with 8% stating the number of password uses exceed 100 per week. 66% stated that employees write down or store passwords in unsafe places, creating a security problem for their companies. 48% of responding IT professionals are actively seeking a reliable password management solution. While 79% of those taking the survey report that security is their number one password management concern, 39% also reported Lost Employee Productivity or Frustration as an issue. In addition, 31% said that helpdesk hours are either lost or spent in frustration by support personnel.
55% of online shoppers think about payment methods when checking out
66% of consumers surveyed by JupiterResearch prefer online stores that offer multiple payment mechanisms. 62% of purchasers feel more secure when they do not have to enter credit card information online, even at merchants’ sites that they trust. 61% of online shoppers choose sites that offer both credit and debit card payment options. 55% of consumers think about payment methods they will use before they click on the checkout button. 48% of all online adult shoppers prefer the convenience of alternative payment methods. One third of online shoppers want to avoid filling out name, address and credit card details. One in eight consumers thinks about how he or she will pay even before deciding what to buy.
Top malware countries: Russia, China, US, Brazil, UK
Russia now occupies number one spot on Sophos malware ranking list with 27.4% of malware, slightly ahead of China on 27%. Both leave the US trailing in third with 10.1%, Brazil on 6.6%, and the UK with 5.32%.
Low-income Americans more worried about online credit card security than high-income
44% of low-income Americans say they strongly agree that they don’t like sending personal information or credit card numbers over the internet, according to Pew Internet. 22% of Americans with household incomes below $25,000 annually, strongly agree that online shopping is convenient. For upper income Americans – household where the annual income exceeds $100,000 – 25% feel strongly in their concerns about sending personal information over the internet, 36% say they find online shopping convenient.
63% of Americans use roughly the same password for different online accounts
63% of Americans admit to using the same password or a variation of it for all or most of their online accounts. 6.7% use a variation of a familiar password for most of their online accounts. 22.9% use the same password for most of their online accounts. 3.5% use the same password for all their of my online accounts, Protecteer survey found.
5.49 mln unique samples of malicious software in 2007
AV Test reported that it saw 5.49 mln unique samples of malicious software in 2007, 5x more than the 972,606 it saw in 2006.
50% of companies block some of Web 2.0 services
More than 50% of the companies surveyed said they do not allow employees to access typical Web 2.0 services from work –such as social networking sites, Internet video sites (YouTube) or virtual worlds (Second Life) – because they view such services a waste of the employee’s and the company’s time, according to IDC.
57% of Americans still very concerned with credit card safety online
61% of adult Americans said they were very or extremely concerned about the privacy of personal information when buying online, an increase from 47% in 2006, University of Southern California’s Center for the Digital Future says. Concerns about credit card security have largely stabilized, with 57% very or extremely concerned in 2007. It was 53% in 2006. As of 2007, 67% of adult Internet users shop online, compared with just half a year earlier. Most spend $100 or less a month, and two-thirds of online shoppers have reduced buying at brick-and-mortar stores. Online parents are more likely than ever to withhold Internet use as punishment – 62% in 2007, compared with 47% a year earlier and 32% in 2000.