The Emergence of Web-based "Super Attacks" and ZoneAlarm ForceField's Virtual Web Surfing Solution

May 2008

Summary
The dominant type of cyber attack consumers face today combines the most effective strategies and characteristics of historical attacks to form a "Super Attack." This super attack is more difficult to stop and more serious in its consequences than previous attacks. It is all of the following:

• Often Web-, not PC-, based
• Financially motivated
• Silent
• Socially engineered
• Viral
• Rapidly morphing

This paper discusses the emergence and character of these modern Web-based Super Attacks on consumers and the reasons that these attacks are dominant today.