2014

 

Virus creation in 2013 set new records, and despite the year 2014 has just begun, here at Panda Security we have already identified what we believe will be the top security trends to watch for in the new year.

According to PandaLabs, 2014 will see a significant increase in malware creation, as well as a steady number of Java exploits and Social Media attacks.

Android, top mobile target for cyber-crooks

Following the trend set in the past months, Android will continue to be the number one target for cyber-crooks. These attacks will be carried out employing banking Trojans, bots and new ransomware techniques.

Android malware
image via: runrun.es

Our colleagues at PandaLabs predict that 2014 will see a significant increase in the number of cyber-attacks on these devices.

Vulnerabilities

Security holes in Java were responsible for most infections detected throughout 2013, and this is not likely to change during 2014.

The fact that Java is installed on billions of computers makes it a favorite target of cyber-criminals. Actually, today there is no exploit kit on the black market worthy of that name that doesn’t exploit a set of Java vulnerabilities.

Internet-connected devices

The number of objects and devices connected to the Internet will continue to grow strongly in 2014. IP cameras, TVs, multimedia players, etc. are now an integral part of the Internet, and most of them share a characteristic that sets them apart from other devices such as computers, smartphones or tablets: Users rarely update them. As a result, they are extremely vulnerable to security flaw exploits, and so in the future we are very likely to see attacks that target these devices as well.

Time will tell, but whatever happens, we’ll keep you posted on the latest computer security news! 😉