Symantec has listed their top security trends for 2007 and issues to watch for 2008. High profile data breaches top the list of security trends for 2007.

Symantec’s Top 10 Internet Security Trends of 2007 were:

1. High profile data breaches - checking all points of data security, including contractors
2. Vista introduction - 16 security patches have been issued thus far
3. Spam - new techniques, botnet-driven spam
4. Professional attack kits - tool kits for aspiring attackers
5. Phishing - tool kits, lack of improvement here
6. Exploitation of trusted brands - as phishing scheme
7. Botnets - no end in sight for these complex attack schemes
8. ActiveX vulnerabilities - IE7 made some improvements, but new variants emerge
9. Vulnerabilities for sale - a marketplace to sell known vulnerabilities
10. Virtualization - security issues not yet understood

In 2006, Symantec predicted the following security trends: Vista, Web 2.0 technologies, Web-based applications like AJAX, and attacks directed towards youth. 2007 saw many Internet security issues that were unpredictable, and it is this same unpredictability that makes IT security so difficult.

Symantec’s Predictions for Internet Security in 2008 are:

1. Even stronger and more complex botnets
2. Malware threats that take advantage of Web 2.0 technologies such as AJAX
3. Larger numbers of attacks aimed at mobile devices
4. Continued evolution of spam
5. More focus by the bad guys on assailing virtualized machines
6. Attacks crafted to prey upon interest in the 2008 presidential election

Amrit Williams, CTO of enterprise security company BigFix and a former IT security analyst for Gartner, predicts that IT security in 2008 will see the convergence of security and systems management.

“It’s too costly, difficult, and challenging to maintain separate infrastructures”

Via zero day, network world, information week Tags: symantec, internet security, security, predictions, security predictions 2008, security trends, it security, business security