Microsoft: US is 'top IT intrusion target'

2009-09-01

The US is the top target for malicious IT intrusions and data breaches, according to Microsoft.

Over 8.75 million threats were reported across just over two million machines in the US, data from the Microsoft Malware Protection Center showed.

Behind the US in second place on the list was China, with 1,085,140 threats, while the UK recorded 1,078,540 threats.

The new figures were accompanied by the latest information on specific malicious code threats over the same period.

A total of 162,328 machines have already been cleaned of the Win32/FakeRean threat since August 24th.

This brings it into fourth place on the overall code threat family table, which is topped by the Taterf malicious code with 463,000 machines having been cleaned.

Microsoft has also warned about the specific nature of other malicious threats, such as the Win32/Koobface which targets social network users and the Win32Alureon that intercepts incoming and outgoing internet traffic to gather confidential information.

Senior technology consultant for Sophos recently warned Trojans are being used more frequently by hackers and cybercriminals.

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