Copyright Law

Study Predicts Increase in Attacks from P2P Networks

By Jared Moya

Kaspersky Lab says hackers will begin moving away from using websites and applications to launch attacks to infiltrating systems through file-sharing networks.

Kaspersky Lab, the Russia-based computer security company, has released its 2010 Cyberthreat Forecast and the predictions may make P2P an even bigger target for law enforcement officials than it already is, and could provide critics with more ammunition as to why the file-sharing problem should be addressed.

“In the coming year we will see a shift in the types of attacks on users, from attacks via websites and applications toward attacks originating from file sharing networks,” it says.

It also predicts a rise in malware spread via P2P.

“In 2009 a series of mass malware epidemics has been ’supported’ by malicious files that are spread via file sharing networks,” it adds. “This method has been used to spread notorious threats such as TDSS and Virus as well as the first backdoor for Mac OS X. In 2010, we expect to see a significant increase in these types of incidents on P2P networks.”

As usual the safest method of protection is to only open and install content from trusted sources, i.e. private BitTorrent tracker sites.

Stay tuned.

jared@zeropaid.com

Full post as published by ZeroPaid on December 22, 2009 (boomark / email).