2014 Threats Predictions: Malware to Take Advantage of Hotspots, Gaming Consoles

This post is the last in a series of articles that expand on the recently released McAfee Labs 2014 Threats Predictions. In this and related posts, McAfee Labs researchers offer their views of new and evolving threats we expect to see in the coming year. This article was written by Craig Schmugar.

Renewed interest in small-office and home-office router hacking, and an uptick in successful exploitations will lead to an increase in WiFi hotspot–related threats. This threat vector will lead to more cross-platform attacks. Public access points are especially worrisome because any system on the network can be impacted by an infected computer that had previously connected to the same hotspot.

With the increasing versatility of Internet-connected gaming consoles, the chances of randomly downloading malware while browsing or installing an app is also increasing. Fueled by the releases of the Microsoft Xbox One and Sony PlayStation 4 in 2013, we expect to see attacks on these platforms grow in proportion with their adoption.

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