Symantec Corp., the global leader in information security, Sunday released its newest Internet Security Threat Report.
The report indicates that for the third period, the Middle East leads the world as the source of Internet threats per capita. The USA is once again the source of the most attacks by volume, with 37% of the global attacks originating from their shores, and only Turkey and Israel register in the top 20 of total volume of attacks at positions 17 and 18 respectively.
However, when the attack per capita rates are examined, Israel ranks 3rd globally, followed by Egypt at 6th, Turkey 7th, Kuwait 15th and Oman 17th.
“There are a number of criteria which could factor in these findings, such as the 600% rise in bot networks globally which is a key area for discussion in this report.” commented Kevin Isaac, Regional Director, Symantec Middle East & Africa. “As ICT policies in the Middle East come to maturity, many countries have adopted ADSL and abandoned monopolistic practices in the telecom sector, bringing cheaper and faster Internet connectivity to homes and offices across the region. This is undoubtedly a benefit, but if these new users are not aware of the security risks that the Internet can pose then they can become the targets of criminals looking to set up bot networks. A bot network is a collection of machines invisibly infected by Trojans, which are remotely controlled to issue viruses or Internet threats in to the wild. Simple measures can clear Trojans from a user’s machine, such as a free virus scan available on the internet or a comprehensive firewall and anti-virus solution, banishing the Trojan and therefore disabling the criminals from remotely controlling their computer.”
“However, the increasing penetration of the Internet has also triggered the interest of youths across the region.” Isaac continued. “Often, markets achieving greater Internet penetration with faster connectivity see a noticeable increase in the number of threats appearing from their country. This can be attributed to the curiosity of teenagers in computer clubs or schools as well as purposeful attacks. Exploring the potential of the Internet is a part of growing up, testing the possibilities of IT, sometimes inadvertently releasing threats in to the wild as they learn how to build, and therefore break, code. Education is key to ensuring that these youths take the right path towards building the Internet in our countries.” (menareport.com)
© 2004 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
