Network security had a rough year in 2010, and unfortunately security experts forecast more choppy waters ahead. Panda Security's anti-malware lab, PandaLabs, released 10 predictions regarding security threats next year, concluding that overall things are not looking up, CIOUpdate reports.

Sophisticated cyber attacks along the lines of the Stuxnet worm will likely increase, but the public may not be aware of them. Encrypted threats that connect to servers and automatically update before security firms detect them will also increase, PandaLabs predicts. At the same time, there will be a rise in less-sophisticated attacks by online protestors or hacktivists, who do not necessarily need extensive technical savvy to cause problems via DDoS attacks or spam crusades.

Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites will remain popular "launching pads" for cyber crime because users are famously trusting on these sites, according to the security pros. Meanwhile, phony media players, plug-ins and other applications will be popular avenues for disguising malicious programs.

In the months ahead, PandaLabs anticipates the first attack on HTML5, which it considers "the perfect target for many types of criminals." On a somewhat bright note, the security experts predict that while the creation of new malware will continue to grow, it may not grow at as high a rate as before. And tablet users, according to PandaLabs, aren't likely to be on the radar of cyber criminals until after next year.

For more:
- see CIOUpdate article

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