I recently wrote an article examining the concentrations of malware hosting servers located in different regions of the world. As seen in Figure 1, Belarus and China, had the highest concentrations of malware hosting sites per 1,000 Internet hosts in the second quarter of 2012 (2Q12), based on data from...

The threat landscape in China is one topic that always garners a lot of interest. Using trend data from the Microsoft Security Intelligence Report volume 13 , and previous volumes, I will provide some insight into what the threat landscape in China looked like in the second half of 2012. Threat landscape...

In my last article on operating system infection rates I discussed the malware infection rate trends for operating systems and service packs. Many customers ask me about this data because it helps them understand how specific platforms are performing with regard to mitigating attacks over time. The long...

For many years attackers have used rogue security software, also known as fake antivirus software or “scareware”, to fool computer users into installing malware and/or divulge confidential information. These programs typically mimic the general look and feel of legitimate security software...

As the holidays approach and 2013 is on the horizon, December is a natural time to reflect on events of the past year and what we have learned from them. Subsequently, every December I inevitably am asked to extrapolate or predict what the threat landscape might look like next year. I’m not Nostradamus...

In the first three parts of this series on the threat landscape in Asia and Oceania I examined threats in Vietnam and India (highest malware infection rates in the region), Japan and Korea (very interesting juxtaposition), and Malaysia and Singapore (malware infection rates trending lower). This final...

In part 1 and part 2 of this series on the threat landscape in Asia and Oceania I focused on Vietnam, India, Korea and Japan. In this third part of the series, I’m focusing on Malaysia and Singapore. I have visited both of these countries in the past to discuss threats in these locations with...

In part 1 of this series on the threat landscape in Asia and Oceania I focused on Vietnam and India – the two locations with the highest malware infection rates in the region. In this part of the series, I’m focusing on Korea and Japan. Historically Korea has had one of the most active threat...

Recently I wrote about the threat landscape in the European Union ( part 1 , 2 , 3 ) and Africa . This series of articles is focused on threats in select locations in Asia (Vietnam, India, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and Japan) and Oceania (Australia and New Zealand). I am focusing on these locations...

It’s been almost a year since I wrote about the threat landscape in Africa based on data published in the Microsoft Security Intelligence Report volume 10 ( SIRv10 ). Using the latest data published in the Microsoft Security Intelligence Report volume 12 (SIRv12), we took a fresh look at how the...

Recently I wrote a three part series of articles ( part 1 , part 2 , part 3 ) on the evolving threat landscape in the European Union. As I wrote in these articles, there has been a steep rise in the malware infection rates in some European countries that typically have some of the lowest malware infection...

According to data we recently published in the Microsoft Security Intelligence Report volume 12 (SIRv12), drive-by download attacks continue to be a favorite tactic used by many attackers attempting to compromise large numbers of systems around the world. I have written about drive-by download attacks...

In the first two parts ( part 1 , part 2 ) of this three part series I focused on the locations in the European Union (EU) that had the highest malware infection rates and/or saw the highest increases in malware infection rates in the second half of 2011. In this final installment of the series I focus...

In part 1 of this series on the threat landscape in the European Union in the second half of 2011, I examined the threats in the location with the highest malware infection rate, Romania. In this segment of the series I will examine what is happening in the EU member states that have seen the biggest...

Recently I spoke at the Microsoft EU Cybersecurity & Digital Crimes Forum 2012 in Brussels. I provided an in-depth briefing on some of the significant shifts in threat landscape in the EU during the second half of 2011. I will be sharing some of the key findings of this analysis in a short series...

In The Evolution of Malware and the Threat Landscape , the Special Edition Security Intelligence Report that we released at RSA and other Security Intelligence Reports (SIR), my starting primary source is the National Vulnerability Database ( http://nvd.nist.gov ) that is maintained by the National Institute...

[NOTE: The time was originally listed as 10:30am, but it starts at 11:00am] Tim Rains and I will be presenting in a live webcast this morning ( 5/23 @11:00am PST ) on the topic “ Code Red to Zbot: 10 Years of Tech, Researchers and Threat Evolution .” The session was presented at the RSA USA 2012 Conference...

Since releasing the new Microsoft Security Intelligence Report Volume 12 (SIRv12) a few weeks ago, one of the top questions I have been asked is about the new malware infection rate data for Windows operating systems. Figure 1: Infection rate (CCM) by operating system and service pack in the fourth...

Scareware, also known as fake anti-virus software, has become one of the most common methods computer hackers use to swindle your money. If you have had a security alert icon pop up on your computer, you may have been the victim of scareware. In a recent TV interview , I discuss how scareware programs...

Today we released the latest volume of the Microsoft Security Intelligence Report (SIR) containing a large body of new data and analysis on the threat landscape. This volume of the SIR includes: Latest industry vulnerability disclosure trends and analysis Latest data and analysis of global vulnerability...

This post continue my analysis of industry vulnerability disclosures started in part 4 last week and is part of an ongoing series of posts based upon Tim Rains and my recent special edition Microsoft Security Intelligence Report (SIR) called “ The evolution of malware and the threat landscape – a ten...

In the first three parts of this series ( part 1 , part 2 , part 3 ), Tim Rains explored some of the ways that the threat landscape (with a focus on malware) has evolved over the past decade and introduced a new special edition Microsoft Security Intelligence Report (SIR) called “ The evolution of malware...

Trending Security News This week security news stories focused on the LulzSec arrests and growing dissent among hackers with CNET reporting LulzSec arrests deal blow to hacker group and the New York Times reporting Arrests Sow Mistrust Inside a Clan of Hackers . The Times op-ed ran a story Tap into the...

In the first two parts of this series ( part 1 , part 2 ) I explored some of the ways that the threat landscape has evolved over the past decade and introduced a new special edition Microsoft Security Intelligence Report (SIR) called “ The evolution of malware and the threat landscape – a...

Trending Security News This week at the RSA U.S. 2012 Conference in San Francisco, IT security executives, government leaders and security researchers and hackers gathered together for keynotes and sessions covering a range of topics impacting the industry today. Security experts shared the latest trends...