The Symantec Internet Security Threat Report consists primarily of four reports: the Global Internet Security Threat Report; the EMEA Internet Security Threat Report, for the Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region; the APJ Internet Security Threat Report, for the Asia-Pacific/Japan (APJ) region; and the Government Internet Security Threat Report, which focuses on threats of specific interest to governments and critical infrastructure sectors. Together, these reports provide a detailed overview and analysis of Internet threat activity, malicious code, and known vulnerabilities. Trends in phishing and spam are also assessed, as are observed activities on underground economy servers.

This summary will discuss current trends, impending threats, and the continuing evolution of the Internet threat landscape based on data for 2008 discussed within the four reports. This summary will also discuss how regional differences can affect malicious activity globally.

There are a number of trends noted in previous volumes of the Symantec Internet Security Threat Report that continued in 2008: malicious activity has increasingly become Web-based; attackers are targeting end users instead of computers; the online underground economy has consolidated and matured; and attackers are able to rapidly adapt their attack activities.

Based on the data and discussions presented in the current Symantec Internet Security Threat Report, this summary will examine the primary methods being used to compromise end users and organizations, who is generating these attacks, and what these attackers are after. Finally, this summary will look at emerging trends that Symantec believes will become prevalent in the immediate future.