Watch Out: Cyber Threats to Expect in 2010

Jan. 1, 2010— -- To your list of New Year's resolutions, here's one more you might want to add: Keeping your computer safe from new threats security researchers say will accompany the new year.

Over the past 12 months, the way people use the Internet and their computers has evolved significantly. And, computer security experts warn, cyber criminals have changed their tactics accordingly.

"It really speaks to a Web 2.0 world. People communicate differently today, people transact and pay their bills differently today, and that drives today's criminals," said David Marcus, director of security research and communications for McAfee Labs, which this week released its 2010 Threat Predictions report. "Bad guys tend to go where the masses go."

Not only has the volume of threats escalated dramatically, but the delivery methods have become more sophisticated, he said.

Cyber criminals increasingly leverage the news of the day to attack unsuspecting consumers. Celebrity deaths, natural disasters, you name it -- Marcus said tech-savvy criminals will find a way to conceal their malware in the headlines you want to read and the bits of conversation you're already having.

The hubs for those snippets of communication -- Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites -- will become major targets for cyber criminals, McAfee predicts.

Although consumers know to be wary of Web links sent by strangers, they tend to trust Web links and e-mail messages sent by friends and family.

But online attackers are learning how to exploit that trust, by delivering malware that appears to come from Facebook friends, Twitter followers and friends' e-mail accounts.

"When you consider there are 350 million users of Facebook, that's a pretty target-rich environment," said Marcus. Though Twitter has a smaller population, he said because of the site's trust relationships, it too will be targeted.