Provided by CommunityDNS, the information in this post consists of news items in the security-based Internet community.

Up to 9 Percent of Machines In An Enterprise Are Bot-Infected

Bot infections are on the increase in enterprise networks. Smaller than the traditional BotNets, these smaller botnets (nearly 60% of the 600 botnets studied in a recent survey) have only a handful to a few hundred bots that make up the botnet. Only 5% of the bots found on enterprise networks were tied to the large botnets, such as Zeus/ZDbot and Koobface.

Bot growth within enterprise networks grew 5%-7% last year and is in the range of 7%-9% this year.

Analysis shows the smaller botnets are more focused in their attacks. They are also more “aware” of the network on which they reside, receiving commands to navigate network shares, retrieve files and access databases. The information retrieved is later up for sale on the cybercriminal market.

To help avoid detection, such botnets utilize different pieces of malware. Damballa, one of the larger botnets, consisted of 50,000 machines, yet operated on just less than 100,000 different forms of malware. Even the smaller botnets use hundreds of different malware pieces.

Click here for more information.

Malware torrent delivered over Google, Yahoo! Ad services

Cyber criminals were able to slip malicious banner ads onto ad syndication services operated by Google, Yahoo and ValueClick. Users, clicking on the malware-laced ads, found their computers infected with a Trojan. After three days the malicious ads ended when the website disappeared.

Click here for more information.

Pill spam: The hard figures

At the heart of the Canadian pharmacy spam engine is the Russian affiliate of spam and malware known as “partnerka”, boasting 124,000 Canadian pharmacy websites where takers of the spam e-mail can purchase their pills. Of the “partnerka”, GalvMed powers the Canadian Pharmacy websites. GalvMed’s sister organization, SpamIT, is allegedly the behind the Storm, Waleded and Conficker botnets.

With an average order of $200 and a commission fee as high at 40%, 20 drug purchases per day can yield $1,600 in commissions per day.

Click here for more information.

UK Music Artists Agree Softer Policy to Tackle Illegal ISP File Sharers

In the wake of “3-Strikes” laws either passing or being defeated, UK music artist agree with a 3-strikes law with a twist. Instead of disconnecting a user from the net, who has already received two warnings to stop their downloading of illegal music of videos, or sending them before a judge to pass judgment on whether they are to keep their Internet connection as well as pay fines, this group of UK artists have agreed to restrict bandwidth instead of completely disconnect the user. Under this proposal bandwidth would be restricted to the point where the downloading of music or videos would no longer work, but they could still access websites and use e-mail.

Click here for more information.

Spuds and Spam: Idaho No. 1 Most Spammed State

While this story talks about the most, and least spammed states in the US, the interesting statistic is on a global basis, 4 and 6 million bots worldwide produce the majority of the globe’s spam. Such botnets serve-up over 87% of all unsolicited e-mail, which roughly equates to 151 billion spam e-mails per day.

Click here for more information.