Jan 22 2009

Web 2.0 and malware 2.0

Category: Malware,Web 2.0DISC @ 5:43 pm

Web 2.0 - No one owns it
A new position paper from ENISA describes the risks associated with web 2.0 and malware 2.0. Web 2.0 includes social networking, photo sharing, wikis and social bookmarking sites and malware 2.0 is defined as a web based infection in which user can be entrap by visiting website.

Web 2.0 applications are thriving because of their dynamic contents, in which users chip into the content and interact with each other. This dynamic interaction with other users comes with new threats of malware 2.0, in web 2.0 environment user trust the information without knowing anything about the author or integrity of the source, and that’s precisely why criminals are attacking these applications and using it to circulate malware 2.0.

ENSIA survey also evaluates the methods used by people to figure out if the web page is phony. People will be suspicious of a source if it only appears once on the web, but will start trusting the source (integrity of the source) if it appears more than once on the web. Assumption is somebody down the chain might have validated the source and as the source start spreading on the web somehow people start believing in the authenticity of the content.

“Misinformation is easily propagated through syndicated news stories, blog posts, and social data, which provides few trust cues to users. This has very serious consequences such as stock price manipulation and control of botnet via RSS feeds”

There is a need to establish an independent third party on the web to validate the source of the content. Availability of the web 2.0 content has to be balanced with a fitting dose of confidentiality and integrity of the content.

Survey results

[TABLE=12]

Related article
25 Most Shocking Crimes in Social Media History

    The Machine is Us/ing Us

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLlGopyXT_g

Tags: availabiliy, confientiality, integrity, malware 2.0, On the Web, Photo sharing, risks, RSS, Security, Social bookmarking, Social network service, threats, Web 2.0, Web page, Website