Cyberattacks against federal networks were up 40 percent in 2010

The number of attacks against federal networks increased nearly 40 percent last year, while the number of incidents targeting U.S. computers overall was down roughly 1 percent for the same period, according to a new White House report to Congress on federal computer security.

"Malicious code through multiple means," such as phishing and viruses, "continues to be the most widely used attack approach," Office of Management and Budget officials wrote. Phishing scams lure victims with fake e-mails apparently from legitimate organizations, such as banks, that instruct them to submit sensitive information, including passwords, on phony websites. In fiscal 2010, federal agencies reported 41,776 cyber incidents vs. 30,000 attacks in 2009, the year the Conficker worm installed malicious software on millions of home, business and government computers. To deal with the growing cyber threat, information technology managers gradually are changing the way they monitor security by installing scanners that automatically detect abnormalities in real time, noted the latest report on agencies' compliance with safeguards codified under the 2002 Federal Information Security Management Act. OMB submitted the annual report to Congress on Feb. 28 and published it online this month.