Security firm calls Q2 'one of the worst on record' for global IT security while lashing out at 'hacktivist' groups and media outlets that gave them headlines.

The second quarter of 2011 was "one of the worst on record" for global IT security, but media spent too much time focusing on "hacktivist" groups like LulzSec, according to Panda Security's latest research report on the state of cybercrime.

"As the report outlines, this quarter has been one of the worst on record, with hacking groups Anonymous and LulzSec causing widespread mayhem and organizations such as RSA Security, the U.S. Defense Department, the International Monetary Fund, the European Space Agency, Sony, Citigroup, and SEGA all falling victims to attacks," the IT security firm writes in an introduction to its quarterly report for the April to June period.

In the report, Panda chides media outlets for "obsessing" over the headline-grabbing but relatively simplistic hacking activities of groups like Anonymous and LulzSec even as "malware creation shows no signs of slowing."

But the security firm's report commits a good deal of ink (and spares no amount of invective) on anonymous hacking activities, beginning in a section sub-titled "From 'hacktivism' to 'stupidism'."

"[T]hey claim that their activities are 'peaceful protests,' despite their actions [being] purposefully enacted to cause economic loss and completely illegal. They say they represent everyone's 'best interest' but are not brave enough to appear publicly, hiding instead behind their pseudonyms," the reports author editorializes.

"Well, if you hadn't already had enough of Anonymous, a new hacker collective called LulzSec has emerged, whose claimed main motivation is simply 'to have fun by causing mayhem.' In my opinion, if you took the most irresponsible and brainless members of Anonymous and put them all together, they would be considered the most refined gentlemen compared to LulzSec."

In a more objective vein, the Panda report singles out cyber-attacks on Sony, RSA Security, the International Monetary Fund, Citigroup, and other organizations as evidence that global IT security was uncommonly stressed over the past three months.

Panda researchers also observed "42 new malware strains created every minute" during the quarter, with Trojans accounting for 70 percent of all new malware threats, followed by viruses at 16 percent, and worms at 11.6 percent. Adware, though only representing 1.37 percent of all active malware during the second quarter, accounted for more than 9 percent of all computer infections, the report stated.

Panda also ranks countries by most and least infected by malware. China, Thailand, and Taiwan were home to the most infected systems in the second quarter, while Sweden, Switzerland, and Norway had the cleanest machines, according to the security firm.