Malware Drop, Ransomware Rise Forecast for 2014

A malware decline and ransomware rise are in the security crystal ball for 2014. There will be less malware spreading through networks next year as hackers focus on obtaining credentials that allow them to access systems under the guise of authentic users. "Malware will still be important in establishing a foothold in the network, but we don't see malware moving laterally in networks and infecting every computer as we saw a couple of years ago," said Alex Watson, director of Websense. "Malware will be used as a tool to grab credentials."