More Viruses Coming in Months Ahead, Research Predicts

Zero-day, the long-feared hypothetical 24-hour period in which a security breech in some ubiquitous networking or Web application is discovered, posted to the Web, and exploited before it’s patched is something we can expect to become a reality in 2004. So says a recent report released by TruSecure, a Virginia-based risk management product and service developer.

“We are officially in the Zero Day Era and we expect there will be another big event in 2004 that causes at least a billion dollars in damages,” says Bruce Hughes, spokesperson for TruSecure and director of the firm’s research labs. “Corporations who do not take adequate time to prepare will be hit hard."

The prediction is one of many for 2004 listed in detail within the report. The report also forecasts:
More fast-acting worms like SQL Slammer, Blaster and Nachi that do not use e-mail to attack computers and networks.
An increase of malware -- viruses and Trojan horses intentionally posted to P2P networks, unknowingly shared and distributed by millions of users.
More problems associated with spyware – clandestine Web-usage monitoring programs that come hidden in free software.
Continued increase in malicious applications that install open proxies on systems, especially targeting broadband users. According to TruSecure, many of the top viruses in 2003 used tactics like this, allowing spammers to send email through these systems.
A more determined effort on the part of authorities, IT developers and the Federal Government to crackdown on virus writers.
To download a PDF of the newly published research, please visit http://www.TruSecure.com.