One of the report's findings is that long-known vulnerabilities still exist, due to mistakes made by webmasters that allow hackers to gain control of their websites — and the computers of unsuspecting visitors to their websites.
Despite decade-old solutions for dealing with some of these problems, the Symantec report revealed that the number of these readily compromised (and readily secured) websites doubled in the latter part of 2007, providing many attractive opportunities for tech-savvy criminal enterprises that do not have to lure surfers into "bad neighborhoods" before launching attacks from legitimate — but poorly coded — websites.
"It overturns the whole notion that if you stay away from gambling and porn sites you are okay," said Kevin Hogan, Symantec director of security operations.
Cross-site scripting, or XSS, is the culprit behind some of these malicious attacks, and works by targeting improperly secured data transfers between web browsers and servers.
For example, XSS vulnerabilities can provide member login information to hackers, complicating paysite owners' efforts to fight password sharing.
XBIZ previously reported on a Flash bug that used XSS and that may be particularly common on adult websites.
The Symantec report attributes attackers' adoption of stealth tactics targeting individual computer users via the Internet to the effectiveness of enterprise networks in fighting "brute force" and other attacks on their systems.
End-users are more easily compromised by malicious activity because of their typically inadequate approach to security — a situation that is compounded by the fact that the site containing the compromised code is unlikely to detect it, guaranteeing further infections.
The Symantec report claims that social-networking sites are a favorite target for attackers, as they present a large audience that is likely to trust the site and reveal confidential or personal information, which could lead to fraud and identity theft.
According to the report, 11,253 specific XSS vulnerabilities were discovered in the final six months of 2007 — up from 6,961 during the first six months of the year — though many other cases have gone unreported.
"There are a lot more websites out there that are prone to this," Hogan said. "It's a much bigger proposition to make a safe website than it is to patch a browser."