As IBM predicts information-technology innovations, The Wall Street Journal offers Walt Mossberg’s best products of 2010 list, the Financial Times names Apple CEO Steve Jobs Person of the Year, and so on, some security researchers are turning their eye toward 2011.
Indeed, security issues plagued the high-tech industry in 2010. From the infamous WikiLeaks issues to Google hacks from China to social-media attacks to mobile-device threats and beyond, 2010 was a year to remember for security researchers.
But what will 2011 bring? More of the same. Much more, said Paul Henry, a security analyst at Lumension. Read on to learn about some of the top security predictions for 2011. (It’s not all bad news.)
Beware of State-Sponsored Crime
The year 2010 in security all started with China and the Google hacks. Remember? What drama! More recently, we watched the Stuxnet state-sponsored malware attack wreak havoc on Microsoft users. More drama. The lesson? It’s no longer your disgruntled employee or even the opportunistic hacker simply taking advantage of a chink in your armor that you need to worry about.
“Your disgruntled employee and opportunistic hackers have limited budgets and resources, while today’s state-sponsored threat comes with unlimited resources. After all, they print the money,” Henry said. “The increased risks associated with state-sponsored cybercrime require more diligence.”
More Social-Media Malware
With Facebook reportedly planning to vie for LinkedIn’s audience, the risk of exposing personal information continues to grow. As Henry sees it, it’s hard to believe that the companies that proved they could not be trusted with the simplest of information now want to host our resumes.
“As social media expands to contain more personal information, so does the risk that this very same information will be used in more effective spear phishing-like attacks,” Henry said. “By expanding the information we are placing on social web sites,…