Malware writers take advantage of financial fears

24 October 2008 15:01 GMT / By Katie Scott

Companies going through consolidation and mergers in these tough times are being targeted by online scams.

Malware developers have picked up on the fact that IT departments, like all departments, are facing cut backs at the moment, as well as mergers with teams from other companies.

And so it is time for attack.

Panda Labs is reporting that there is a strong connection between the number of malware attacks and the rising economic doom and gloom.

But not just because businesses may be distracted but also because syber criminals are also worried about their bottom lines.

As Ars Technica points out: "Consumers who can't afford to make their house payments, credit card bills, or utility fees, after all, are a heck of a lot less likely to buy genuine Penis Mightiers, utilize genuine Canadian pharmacies, or sign up for bulk access to 25,000 porn sites for just $5.99 per month for the first month and $99.99 thereafter."

The value of malware is directly related to how much money it will scam out of people after all, and so malware developers could see their revenues plung.

Panda Labs says most malware has a success rate of around 3.4%, but if they are making less money, they need to create even more.

So expect a whole load emails about Swedish penis enlargers in the future.

Full tags

Software, Phishing, Online, Websites, Statistics, Malware