Hackers to focus on industrial targets in 2012
Increasingly sophisticated and well-orchestrated cyber attacks on industrial targets will become more and more prominent this year, it has been predicted.
The forecast comes in security firm McAfee's 2012 Threat Predictions report, which claims last year's emerging threats are to become this year's major players in the cybercrime landscape.
High-profile industrial targets will be at risk and more 'hacktivist' groups will emerge, it claims, alongside attacks on mobile banking, 'legal' spam and virtual currency.
The firm also warned that while water, electricity, oil and gas are vital everyday resources, many industrial systems are not prepared for cyber attacks.
"Many of the threats that will become prominent in 2012 have already been looming under the radar in 2011," said Vincent Weafer, senior vice president of McAfee Labs.
"Over the past year, the general public has become more aware of some of these risks, such as threats to critical infrastructure or the impact of hacktivism as they gain international media attention. In the meantime, we continue to see cybercriminals improving their toolkits and malware and are ready to make a significant impact in 2012."
