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ScanSafe, a provider of SaaS (News - Alert) Web Security, has issued guidelines on security threats for 2009. ScanSafe predicts that the rate of exposure to Web-delivered malware will continue to increase at a rate of approximately six percent per month.  The Rate of Exposure is how often a single user is exposed to malware.

Online banking accounts and publicly traded companies are likely to be targeted the most, company experts said.

Fraudulent online billing practices are likely to come down with companies putting more safeguards in place as well as informing customers of safe ways to use their website. However, when attackers find credit cards are no longer a good source of revenue, they are likely to directly attack online banking accounts, the company said.

As successful attacks increase, they will have a negative impact not just on the revenues but also on customer confidence, with customers losing confidence in the safety and integrity of online banking.

“2008 has proven that we are not taking enough action against online criminal activity, hence the huge surge in online attacks,” comments Mary Landesman, senior security researcher at ScanSafe (News - Alert).

Landesman adds that the current state of the economy is likely to trigger more attacks for financial gain. Another prediction that company experts released states that attacks, particularly phishing threats, are likely to grow more sophisticated in nature.

With competition peaking, publicly traded companies are particularly vulnerable, with attacks as well as the volume of malware (exploits, rootkits, backdoors, and password stealers) used to facilitate these types of attacks increasing. Company officials also said that these attacks will gain sensitive information, related to patentable R&D efforts for example.

In an attempt to guard against fraud, companies and customers will adopt technologies that block third party content. ScanSafe experts predict that this wider adoption will adversely impact Internet advertising in 2009, currently estimated as a 21.2 billion industry. For example, pop-up blockers are likely to be blocked, making it harder for ads to reach their intended audience.

Commenting on domain registrars and hosting providers, Landesman said, “I believe that 2009 will send a stern message to online criminals and we will see a push for tighter enforcement over domain registrations and hosting.”

The lack of controls or improper implementation of safeguards has made it easy for attackers to register and host malicious domains with ease, company officials said. They pointed out that some hosting providers re-release suspended domains back to the attackers, thus making previously compromised sites which have not yet been cleaned vulnerable again.

While the sophistication and frequency of the attacks is likely to be worrying, the year ahead may also see some improvements in the online security, ScanSafe concludes.

ScanSafe processes more than 20 billion Web requests and 200 million blocks each month for customers in over 80 countries.