Cyber criminals hitting Apple products and exploiting location services among top digital threats to SMEs in 2011

Hackers attacking Apple products, and exploiting shortened URLs and geo-location services are just some of the digital threats businesses need to be on the lookout for in 2011, security firm McAfee has warned.

Other threats include the growing practice of botnets, internet television networks and the rise of “hacktivism”, which could see some businesses have confidential data leaked if they are targeted.

McAfee says the growing use of smartphones and tablets will mean that businesses have to adapt to new threats during the next 12 months, as hackers develop new viruses and pieces of malware.

“We’re detecting, on average, around 60,000 pieces of new malware every day. This is a huge amount, and there needs to be awareness of this issue so business owners can just keep on top of what’s happening in this space,” chief technology officer for Asia Pacific, Michael Sentonas, says.

But Sentonas says one of the largest growing threats is something many businesses owners might not even consider – URL shorteners.

“The use of URL shorteners has really taken off towards the last quarter of the year, and really in the past six months. It offers so many advantages, as you’re able to pass URLs between people that are so short.”

“But this also means that people are clicking on URLs that are perhaps 10 characters long, and they really have no chance of figuring out the name of the website they’re going to. As a result, people can’t really tell if they’re safe or not.”

Sentonas says there are a few ways businesses can keep on track of shortened URLs.

“There are a number of services out there that will allow you to check a URL before you click on it. Most of these are types of web portals and tell you whether it’s safe or not to go to.”

“Of course, this comes alongside commonsense security principals like updating anti-malware services on your machine.”

Sentonas also says the growth of smartphones is a big concern for businesses, as virus makers are becoming more sophisticated and moving their programs over to mobile operating systems. Once a virus hits a smartphone, he says, they can spread across networks quite quickly.

“The whole issue of theft and privacy around mobile phone usage is becoming much more prominent this year,” he says. “We’ve seen a few examples of malware being ported over to the mobile platform, with the Zeus Trojan ported over and spreading.”

Sentonas points out that with the growth of multiple operating systems, including iOS, Android, Symbian and Windows Phone 7, hackers will become more sophisticated and start developing viruses for these specific systems, rather than desktop computers.

“We need to focus on the fact that we’re putting so much personal content onto mobile devices now, and we should be aware of any privacy threat surrounding them. Maintaining high security is crucial.”

Sentonas also warns Mac users that while they may have previously escaped being immune from attacks, hackers are now targeting Apple products more and more.

“We’re starting to see the Mac platform used more and more in home and in business, and as you see the market share rise, we obviously expect that malware writers will start to think about shifting their malware over to this platform.”

He says Mac owners cannot simply assume they are immune, and warns them to adopt anti-virus software and keep it updated.

“We are seeing that a lot of people are still seeming to believe that the Mac OS platform remains free of malware… but this is something they need to be aware of.”

“We’re also seeing an explosion of iPads and iPhones in business environments, using them for email, office applications. There is the ability to now port malware across all these devices now, so business owners need to be aware of that.”

Other threats McAfee has noted include:

• Geolocation services – “Locative services such as foursquare, Gowalla and Facebook Places can easily search, track and plot the whereabouts of friends and strangers. In just a few clicks, cybercriminals can see in real time who is tweeting, where they are located, what they are saying, what their interests are, and what operating systems and applications they are using.”
• Viruses from friends – “Malicious content disguised as personal or legitimate emails and files to trick unsuspecting victims will increase in sophistication in 2011.”
• Botnets – “Botnets continue to use a seemingly infinite supply of stolen computing power and bandwidth around the globe. Following a number of successful botnet takedowns, including Mariposa, Bredolab and specific Zeus botnets, botnet controllers must adjust to the increasing pressure cyber-security professionals are placing on them.”