The IBM X-Force 2009 Mid-Year Trend and Risk Report revealed many security problems with the world wide web. The report’s findings show an unprecedented state of Web insecurity as Web client, server, and content threats converge posing a huge risk for web surfers. The report finds more than a 500 percent increase in malicious Web links and increased sophistication in vulnerability exploitation.
There has been a 508% increase in the number of new malicious Web links discovered in the first half of 2009. This problem is no longer limited to malicious domains or untrusted Web sites. The report notes an increase in the presence of malicious content on trusted sites, including popular search engines, blogs, bulletin boards, personal web sites, online magazines and mainstream news sites. The ability to gain access and manipulate data remains the primary consequence of vulnerability exploitations.
The report also finds that the level of veiled Web exploits, especially PDF files, are at an all time high, pointing to increased sophistication of attackers. PDF vulnerabilities disclosed in the first half of 2009 surpassed disclosures from all of 2008. From Q1 to Q2 alone, the amount of suspicious, obfuscated or concealed content monitored by the IBM ISS Managed Security Services team nearly doubled.
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The Safest Web Browser
According to Mozilla, maker of web browsers, their Firefox is the safest web browser.
Here is their claim:
Firefox keeps your personal info personal and your online interests away from the bad guys.
So How Do We Do It?
What makes Firefox different? Most importantly, we’re open. That means anyone around the world (and we have thousands of experts watching our back) is able to look into our code and find any potential weak spots in our armor.
And when we hear about a problem, we roll up our sleeves and get to work fixing it right away. It’s in your best interest (and ours) to take care of the issue, even if it means admitting we’re a little less than perfect. Simply put, your security is our top priority.
There’s a Method to Our Madness.
Nobody loves the Internet more than we do. But, scammers, spammers and trigger-happy viruses are true threats, so you need to protect yourself while using the Web. That’s Where Firefox Comes In.
Using it is the safest way to surf the web because:
* We don’t try to tackle the problem alone. An international community of security experts is working around the clock to make your web browsing safer (thanks to our open source way of doing things). It’s like having your neighborhood watch led by a group of highly trained ninjas.
* We consider your security every step of the way. Security experts work right from the start to identify and address potential problems before a single line of code is written.
* We stay on top of the issue. We’re constantly monitoring threats and releasing new Firefox updates to stay one step ahead. Operating in an open source world means anyone can help us find and fix our weak spots.
For more details on how Firefox keeps you safe online, visit our security blog.