MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - In its 2008 Annual Google Communications Intelligence Report security forecast, Google has predicted continued spam-blended virus attacks with an increasing focus on identity theft.
The report said these attacks rely on social engineering and messages that refer to current events such as natural disasters and the upcoming Olympic Games.
"Further, virus attacks will target executives at specific companies whose intellectual property is deemed valuable on the black market by the hackers," Google reported. "These attacks will appear to come from legitimate business agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service, the Better Business Bureau and the Securities and Exchange Commission."
Google predicted that such incidents will influence organizations to eliminate live links in customer email communications. Google also predicted an increase in the adoption of encryption, deployment of systems for monitoring outbound messages and use of archiving technology.
Google also warned of increased identity theft attacks from sites that let users create and post their own content.
However, Google also predicted good business.
"In addition, hosted solutions (SaaS) will play a major role in reducing the cost and complexity of these products," Google reported.
Information technology research and advisory company Gartner agrees with Google's predictions.
"The dysfunction of the client-server era is driving alternative approaches to [information technology] development, delivery and management, which SaaS is the most apparent version of," Ben Pring, research VP for Gartner, said in 2007. "There is now a widespread consensus among the movers and shakers of the [information technology] industry that SaaS is an important and meaningful issue which can no longer be regarded as the 'lunatic fringe.'"
Google's report about spam as a top worry at most organizations also states that executives blame their IT staffs rather than end users for problems related to security and compliance.
