June 2008 cyber threat forecast

MX Logic today published a new monthly report that aims to help inform organizations about potential email and Web threats in advance so they can take preventative action. In addition to historical data and trends, the report forecasts overall spam levels, potential virus and worm outbreaks and likely social engineering ploys for the coming month.

Look-back reports are important, but only if we use them to inform our decisions about the future. The goal of the MX Logic Threat Forecast and Report isn’t to predict the future, but to use our unique insight and knowledge to provide IT departments with some tangible signs to be on the look-out for in the coming month, so they can be better prepared to deal with them.

June 2008 Threat Forecast Highlights:

• Overall spam volume is expected to remain high or increase slightly in June.
• As a percentage of total email traffic, spam is expected to remain at approximately 90 percent.
• Variants of the Storm Worm are expected to emerge in the form of e-card spam, particularly around Father’s Day.
• Blended email and Web threats related to gas prices or the Chinese earthquake relief efforts will remain popular, but will start to decline toward the end of the month.

The MX Logic Threat Forecast and Report is developed using current and historical data and trends, as well as expert analysis of real-time spam and virus events monitored by the 24×7 MX Logic Threat Operations Center.