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80 Percent of Attacks in 2012 Were Redirects from Legitimate Sites; 27 Percent of all Cybercrime was Linked to ‘Blackhole’ Exploit Kit | |
Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2012 03:52:05 PM | |
This and more in the new Sophos Threat Report—outlining the changing threats and new platforms challenging IT security. December 4, 2012 -- Sophos today released its Security Threat Report 2013, a detailed and interactive assessment of what’s happened in IT security for 2012 and what’s expected for 2013–from the ever-growing bring your own device (BYOD) movement to the increasing adoption of (and uncertainty around) the cloud to countless other security challenges faced by organizations of all sizes. Year in Review 2012 was a year of new platforms and modern malware—what was once a homogeneous world of Windows systems, is now a landscape made up of diverse platforms. Modern malware is taking advantage of these trends, creating new challenges for IT security professionals. The increasing mobility of data in corporate environments has forced IT staff to become even more agile. 2012 was also a retro year driven by resurgence in traditional malware attacks, specifically malware distributed via the web. For example, more than 80 percent of attacks were redirects, the majority of which were from legitimate websites that were hacked. Malware Attacks: Riskiest and Safest Countries Unprotected computers are vulnerable to different kinds of malware attack. Exposure to the majority, but not all, comes from simply clicking on links in emails or browsing web pages that happen to be carrying malicious code. Although some websites are created with the intention of infecting visitors, legitimate websites continue to be a popular target for cybercriminals, as once they are compromised, they will infect completely unsuspecting internet users. Based on analyzed traffic, SophosLabs, Sophos’ global network of threat intelligence centers, has ranked the riskiest and safest countries for experiencing a malware attack: Top 5 Riskiest Countries Rank Country TER*
Top 5 Safest Countries Rank Country TER*
*Threat Exposure Rate (TER): Measured as the percentage of PCs that experienced a malware attack, whether successful or failed, over a three month period in 2012. A Look Ahead While a large proportion of cybercrime continues to be opportunistic, Sophos believes that, in 2013, increased availability of malware testing platforms — some even providing criminals with money back guarantees – will make it more likely for malware to slip through traditional business security systems. As a result, we can expect to see an increase in the number of incidents where attackers have gained and sustained surreptitious access to corporate networks. Additional trends expected in the year ahead include: More basic web server mistakes: Due to an uptick in credential-based extractions, IT professionals will need to pay equal attention to protecting both their computers as well as their web server environment.
“Two of the defining terms of 2012 are ‘empower’ and ‘evolve.’ Attacks and threats—on PCs, Macs and mobile devices—continue to evolve as does the technology to combat them,” said Gerhard Eschelbeck, CTO, Sophos. “As users demand more and better ways to do their jobs, IT continues to evolve, bringing forth a new set of operating systems and other advancements, replete with different security models and attack vectors, making it crucial for security technology to evolve, ensuring that end users are protected and empowered—no matter what platform, device, or operating system they choose.” The full Security Threat Report 2013 contains more information and statistics on cybercrime in 2012, as well as top tips and predictions for emerging trends. |