Crimeware double threat menaces Internet

The APWG announced today that its January survey shows a new record high in the number of unique keylogger crimeware variants detected – while the number crimeware-spreading URLs rose to nearly its old record attained in November of last year.

The number of unique keylogger variants detected in January reached a new high of 364, an increase of 1.4% from the previous high in October, 2007. The number of websites that were found to be hosting keylogging crimeware systems rose by over 1,100 from December, reaching 3,362, the second highest number recorded in the preceding 12 months.

Highlights from the APWG January Phishing Trends Report:

• The total number of unique phishing reports submitted to APWG in January 2008 was 29,284, an increase of over 3,600 reports from the previous month.
• The number of brands targeted by phishers in January reported decreased by more than 10 brands to 131.
• The number of unique phishing websites detected by APWG was 20,305 in January 2008, a decrease of over 5,000 from the month of December 2007.
• In January, the United States moved back to being the top hosting country for password-stealing malicious code with 43.39%, after being eclipsed by China in December.
• In January, APWG saw the United States remain the top of country hosting phishing websites with 37.25% of all such websites.