Web 2.0 Security Risks Scrutinized

[Peaches]

September 16, 2009 7:45 AM PDT

Web 2.0 security risks scrutinized

by Vivian Yeo

Web 2.0 security risks scrutinized by Vivian Yeo "Web 2.0 sites that enable people to create content are increasingly used to carry out a wide range of attacks, according to a new security study. Websense's State of Internet Security" (PDF), released Tuesday, notes that attackers are focusing their attention on interactive Web 2.0 elements. Some 95 percent of user-generated comments on blogs, message boards, and chat rooms are either spam or contain malicious links, the security vendor warned. "The very aspects of Web 2.0 sites that have made them so revolutionary--the dynamic nature of content on the sites, the ability for anyone to easily create and post content, and the trust that users have for others in their online networks--are the same characteristics that radically raise the potential for abuse," Websense said in its report. Web 2.0 sites, the company added, comprise "many" of the most visited sites on the Internet. The top 100 most visited Web properties, tended to be classified as social-networking or search sites. Nearly half, or over 47 percent, of the top 100 Web sites support user-generated content."

details & screenshots cnet news - http://news.cnet.com/security/