The Symantec Intelligence Report provides analysis of cyber security threats from May to June 2012. Some key findings include a 24% increase in targeted attacks, over 36% of which targeted small businesses. 45% of targeted attacks were aimed at the defense industry. Spam rates decreased slightly while phishing and malware in emails increased slightly. Adult content remained the top category for spam. Banking was the most spoofed sector in phishing attacks. Various malware like W32/Bredolab and Trojans were among the most frequently blocked.
2. About the Symantec Intelligence Report
The Symantec Intelligence report provides the latest analysis of
cyber security threats, trends and insights from the Symantec
Intelligence team concerning malware, spam, and other
potentially harmful business risks.
The data used to compile the analysis for this combined report
includes data from May and June 2012.
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3. October 2011 Highlights
• 36% of targeted attacks directed at SMBs
• Further analysis of W32.Flamer
• In-depth look a recently attempted targeted attack
• Spam – 66.8 percent (a decrease of 1.0 percentage point since
May 2012)
• Phishing – One in 467.6 emails identified as phishing (an
increase of 0.04 percentage points since May 2012)
• Malware – One in 316.5 emails contained malware (an increase
of 0.04 percentage points since May 2012)
• Malicious Web sites – 2,106 Web sites blocked per day (a
decrease of 51.7 percent since October 2011)
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4. Targeted Attacks in 2012
• Daily targeted attacks increased by a minimum of 24%.
• More than 36% of all targeted attacks are aimed at small
companies, compared to 18% at the end of 2011.
• Direct correlation between a rise in attacks against small
companies and a drop in attacks against larger ones.
• 45% of all targeted attacks are aimed at the Defense industry.
• In four of the top five source countries, their own country is
either the first or second-most targeted country.
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18. Most Frequently Blocked Malware at the Endpoint
Malware Name % Malware
WS.Trojan.H 29.06%
W32.Sality.AE 6.81%
W32.Ramnit!html 6.01%
W32.Ramnit.B 5.61%
W32.Downadup.B 3.82%
W32.Ramnit.B!inf 3.53%
W32.Virut.CF 2.07%
Trojan.ADH.2 2.00%
W32.Almanahe.B!inf 1.83%
Trojan.ADH 1.43%
[1] For further information on these threats, please visit: http://www.symantec.com/business/security_response/landing/threats.jsp
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19. Where to next?
• Web:
– www.symanteccloud.com/intelligence
– www.symantec.com/spam
• Twitter:
– @symanteccloud
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