Cyberattacks that seek to penetrate computer networks or disrupt online services are increasing significantly, according to a survey of public and private sector information security and technology professionals released on December 1.

Infections from software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system were “easily the most prevalent” type of cyberattack in 2009, the Computer Security Institute survey found. More than 64 percent of 443 respondents said they were victims of malware attacks, compared to 50 percent in 2008.

Often these were multistage attacks, in which the malware downloaded separate tools to enhance the severity of the infection once inside the network, according to the report. Eight percent of survey participants, or 34 people, worked for the federal government.

The San Francisco-based association noted that reports of malware infection are likely to continue climbing as attackers “spend more energy customizing malware to make it more effective in targeted attacks.” Twenty-five percent of survey respondents reported at least some of their security incidents involved targeted attacks, and 4 percent said they experienced more than 10 such infiltrations.

Conversely, 34 percent of respondents were fraudulently represented as senders of phishing messages that tricked recipients into clicking a link or downloading an attachment that installed malicious software.

Source: http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20091201_5149.php