LEXINGTON, Mass. -- Security predictions released today by Arbor Networks reveals that the iPhone will be a major target for cybercriminals in 2008. The forecast also highlights Chinese specific crime as a major issue for the New Year.

Arbor's Security and Engineering Response Team (ASERT), who have put together the forecasts, believe that the iPhone will become the victim of a serious attack in 2008. These assaults are likely to be in the form of drive by attacks - malware embedded into seemingly harmless information, images or other media that actually perform dangerous actions when rendered on the iPhone's Web browser. With the scrutiny the iPhone has received since its launch earlier this year over network lock-in, ASERT believes that hackers will be enticed by the possibility of attacking Apple users and the opportunity to "be the first" to hack a new platform.

Increase in Chinese cybercrime for 2008

ASERT has also predicted a rise in 'Chinese on Chinese' cybercrime. In the past year the team has seen a dramatic increase in the attention paid to Chinese-language specific software such as QQ Messenger and a number of malware samples focused on stealing users credentials. Arbor expects this trend to multiply in 2008 as more Chinese users come online, more software is written for the market and Chinese cybercriminals become increasingly more sophisticated and organised.

Arbor Networks Inc.