Modern cybercrime has grown and evolved so much that it is now comparable to other organized illegal activities such as drug and weapons trafficking in terms of monies gained and laundered. No matter how worthless users’ personal data or online accounts may seem, they are a potential goldmine for cybercriminals.

Kaspersky Lab’s experts have seen an unbelievably rapid growth in the cybercriminals’ interest in user data. From the close of 2009, the number of malicious programs designed to steal any type of users’ personal data has increased by more than 100%. The number of new banking Trojan signatures introduced into Kaspersky Lab’s databases exceeded 25,000 in 2010, which is more than five times higher than in 2006. Leaks of personal data stored on users’ computers were one of the main topics at the “Cyberthreat Landscape 2010-2011: Outcomes, Trends and Forecasts” press tour.