Kaspersky Labs has issued a report detailing the top cybersecurity threats for 2012.  It’s a report worth reading.  Nation states will develop new forms of cyber attacks. Logic dumps will proliferate. Mobile drive by downloads will increase and botnets will not just be for the PC anymore and banks will increasingly be targeted.

Here are some of the highlights of the report:

Cyber Weapons

The Stuxnet attack created some hysteria that these sorts of weapons would be the new threat. Israel reportedly used it against Iran.  Interestingly, it was used it for a specific purpose not as something that can be replicated. Stuxnet is the kind of cyber weapon uses for battles between nation states. Expect more Stuxnet type of attacks in 2012 for battles between nation states, especially those between Western Europe and United States versus China. The bigger threat? Kill switches and logic bombs that can be deployed systematically.

Mass Targeted Attacks

The mass attack came in vogue this past year.  Members of Anonymous capped the year with an attack on Stratfor Global Intelligence. In the past several days, the hackers dumped 75,000 names, credit card numbers, email addresses and passwords for current and past Stratfor customers.  Kaspersky says that increasingly hackers will use existing malware to make mass attacks. For example, Chinese hackers seem to fancy Poison Ivy, a backdoor trojan developed in Sweden several years ago.

Mobile Threats

Malware developers will increase their attacks on the Android operating system, escalating to what Kaspersky calls mobile drive-by-download attacks such as those that spread when people scan malware infested QR codes. These attacks will increase the likelihood that we will see the emergence of a mobile botnet. That means millions of smartphones becoming zombie devices, controlled by their masters to spread malware. Kaspersky also expects the first mass worm for Android to appear, capable of spreading itself via text messages and sending out links to itself at some online app store.

Data Privacy

Data is like water, isn’t it? It can be so heavy in places that just the most basic of intrusions can cause it to spread everywhere. Well, expect more floods this year. Companies will increasingly try to collect as much information about you as they possibly can. Unfortunately, they won’t do much to protect it.

Bank Jobs

Banks will continue to be targeted, especially in Asia, where the standard of living is increasing. Kaspersky reports that local e-payment and banking services are developing in line with the rising standards of living in Asian countries. That means an ever-increasing number of attacks performed on local banks and users, employing dedicated, locally-focused phishing and Trojan programs.

Hacktivism

Kaslersly says hacktivism will reach new levels in 2012 with attacks on government institutions with deeper political intentions.

According to Kaspersky, hacktivism “will also be used to distract attention from them or to set up a false trail, thus creating an opportunity to ‘securely’ hack an object of interest. In 2011, a number of hacktivist attacks have led to leaks of sensitive information which is undoubtedly the purpose of classic targeted attacks both in terms of commercial espionage and national interests. In these cases, hacktivists have greatly (and perhaps involuntarily) assisted other groups which can take advantage of their methods to steal information in attacks of a very different kind.”