According to McAfee’s third quarter security threats report (Q3-2011), revealed by Intel-owned security technology firm, cybercriminals seems to change their tactics of circulating malware for avoiding law enforcement, reports v3.co.uk on November 21, 2011.

Commenting on the findings, Toralv Dirro, Security Strategist at McAfee Labs EMEA (Europe Middle East and Africa) said that as a result of a sudden augment of virus indulgence, large botnets are being shut down and operators are being driven to concentrate more on smaller and localized networks, highlights v3.co.uk on November 21, 2011.

While explaining the matter, Dirro claimed that law enforcement becomes more interesting when the botnet is bigger. It is completely different in case of smaller botnets and the matter becomes rather uninteresting.

However, though there was a decline in the overall botnet infections in Q3-2011, there was a significant increase of the infection in Argentina, Indonesia, Russia, and Venezuela. Among the botnets, Cutwail, Festi, and Lethic topped the pack, whereas Grum, Bobax, and Maazben declined.

The report also discusses about social engineering. On the basis of geography and language, social engineering is also used for targeted attacks. Outstanding insights are being showed into works of different cultures and regions, not only globally but also seasonally and are likely to vary by month, season or holiday. “Delivery Service Notifications” (or fake error messages) take the prime position in terms of popularity in the US, whereas 419 scams” reign supreme in the UK. Similarly, phishing scams hold dominance in France, whereas drug spam have gained popularity in Russia.

Also, according to the findings of the report, there is a decline in spam, maintaining circa-2007 spam levels, around the globe. Although the volume of spam is quite low, McAfee Labs witnesses targeted spam, spearphishing as the most developed till date. However, though there seems to be a decline in the spam circulation, it provides a cold alarm at the same time to remain vigilant and sense any instance of risk.

Moreover, the report also discusses about the malware. The aggregate growth of the malware declined during the third quarter (Q3-2011) against the last quarter (Q2-2011), though it remains equal with the growth rate during the same time of last year (Q3-2010).