To evade detection, cyber criminals are constantly changing their tactics. To complicate matters, they’re also changing who they are targeting.
According to the article, “Cybercriminals new attack targets,” the newly released Cisco 2010 Annual Security report foresees a major turning point in cybercrime — a shift away from Windows-based PCs to other operating systems and platforms. As hackers’ “platform of choice” over the past decade, Windows operating systems, PC platform and application vendors have taken a tougher stance in protecting their products. As a result of finding it increasingly more difficult to exploit these platforms, scammers are moving on to other targets that, for the most part, have largely been ignored by hackers.
Does this mean Windows-based systems are now in the clear of cyber attacks? I hardly think so. But what it does suggest is that other platforms need to beef up their security to make sure they don’t become the next easy target for cyber criminals. ( Read More… )
The one thing I’ve learned in my years in IT security is that change is the only constant. The cat-and-mouse game between cyber criminals and security professionals, unfortunately, is part of the evolutionary process of malware and security development. Combine that with the fact that enterprise networks are expanding beyond Windows to include platforms like Mac and Linux, it’s clear that controlling and securing endpoints that have traditionally been considered safe from more widespread attacks, is more important than ever.
Moving forward, I firmly believe that we will no longer be operating in a “Windows-only” world. Enterprises once believed to run under the radar of cyber attacks are no longer immune to malware that now targets specific information and the different systems users work on. Knowing this, enterprises can no longer afford to think they are impervious to such attacks.
This is why CoreTrace’s Bouncer 6 is the first enterprise-ready application whitelisting solution to protect endpoints for all major versions of Windows, Macs and Linux, with continued support for Solaris implementations. ( Read More… )
While it is well-known that malware toolkits have become the preferred method for launching Internet attacks, a recent Symantec report has found out just how much the exploit toolkits have lowered the barrier for cybercriminals to launch campaigns.
In the article, “How Attack Toolkits Impact the Cyber-Underground,” Marc Fossi, manager of research and development for Symantec Security Response, said the ease of usability is one of the reasons why toolkits are now used in the majority of Web attacks. ( Read More… )
While the New York Times article, “Israeli Test on Worm Called Crucial in Iran Nuclear Delay,” hypothesizes that Israel and the United States were behind the Stuxnet worm to undermine Iran’s efforts to make a nuclear bomb, the scariest part may not be the worm itself — but the blueprint it provides for similar cyber attacks against highly sensitive targets and critical infrastructure around the world.
It’s no secret that advancements in all research and development are predicated upon what has been done before. And the same rule applies to malware creation. ( Read More… )
As cloud-based computing takes off in 2011, it’s becoming increasingly important for security software makers to develop solutions that can handle the growing number of new threats and malware variants in the cloud.
According to the article, “Cloud-based Computing Security Requires Adapting,” as traditional antivirus becomes ineffective against malware attacks that exploit weaknesses in signatures, signature-based technologies alone can no longer adequately protect endpoints. ( Read More… )