It was hard to miss the many headlines recently about "hacktivist" groups such as Anonymous and LulzSec, whose antics have caused lots of frustration on the part of victims. But in the end, the activities of these groups are probably less harmful than the hardened criminals who don't care about media coverage. They just want money.

A recent report from Panda takes both groups to task. As for the hacktivists, "They claim that their activities are 'peaceful protests,' despite their actions [being] purposefully enacted to cause economic loss and completely illegal. They say they represent everyone's 'best interest' but are not brave enough to appear publicly, hiding instead behind their pseudonyms."

But the bigger cause for worry is the apparent step up in activity by perpetrators of malware, and their ability to breach the likes of Sony, Citigroup, RSA and other big companies who can afford top-notch cyber-protection. The point here is the cyber mayhem is getting worse. According to PC Magazine, Panda researchers also say 42 new malware strains were created every minute during the quarter, with Trojans accounting for 70 percent of all new malware threats, followed by viruses at 16 percent, and worms at 12 percent. Adware, though only representing 1.37 percent of all active malware during the second quarter, accounted for more than 9 percent of all computer infections.

Needless to say, you cannot afford complacency now. You have to be active on all fronts.

For more:
- here's the PC Magazine article

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