2005: the year the virus gets nasty
Next year will see more and more viruses targeting users' financial accounts as organised crime moves online in a big way, according to security company Sophos.
Although Sophos found that half of this year's top viruses, i.e. Netsky and its variants, came from a teenager in northern Germany, 2005 will see more and more viruses that collect and forward online banking details.
Organised criminal gangs in eastern Europe and the Far East are hiring professional programmers to harvest these details and use them to drain funds from bank accounts worldwide.
"There will be a greater move towards the commercial side of malware," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos.
