Online crime is changing as a result of criminals making use of increasingly creative scamming techniques, according to a new report.
New techniques are changing the face of online criminal activity, a new report has suggested.
According to Sophos, many online attacks now attempt to circumvent traditional security procedures, such as email scans, with this reflected in a drop in malicious email attachments.
As a result, a growing number of hackers are making use of SQL injection to deploy malicious code across well-known websites, Sophos warned.
Web users who visit these sites are at risk of seeing their own machines taken over by criminals, as well as having personal information stolen for identity theft purposes.
Furthermore, the rising popularity of Web 2.0 sites means these properties are becoming more of a target for online criminals utilising profile details for phishing purposes, the report suggested.
"Businesses need to bite the bullet and take better care of securing their computers, networks and websites," commented Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos.
"They not only risking having their networks broken into, but are also putting their customers in peril by passing on infections."
The threat posed by unsolicited emails is still at large, however – a recent report from Secure Computing suggested that there were six major spam waves during June.
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