Lancope, a flow-based security, network and application
performance monitoring, has unveiled its top five security predictions for
2012.
The predictions highlight the most prominent types of
security threats that are expected in 2012, and explain how the risk associated
with these threats will evolve.
Organizations witnessed an explosion of high-profile breaches and cyber attacks
in 2011 including the highly publicized WikiLeaks breach and Anonymous and
LulzSec attacks. This steady stream of directed attacks will continue, if not
increase, in 2012.
Lancope’s top five security predictions for 2012 include:
1. Advanced
persistent threats (APTs) will become more predominant : The
explosion of APTs, also known as targeted attacks, against high-profile
companies and government agencies in 2011 will become even more predominant in
2012. Organizations that come under fire from APTs will be at heightened risk,
suffering tremendous credibility and financial loss.
2. Insider
threats will grow : Insider threats backed by malicious intent,
and the risks associated with insider breaches, will grow in 2012. Because they
occur within the network and by privileged users such as employees, contractors
or partners, organizations will have a hard time battling insider threats with
traditional security measures that detect attacks from the outside.
3.
Industrialized attacks will remain stable : Industrialized
attacks have been around for several years now, but they no longer represent
the peak of sophistication in the world of cyber threats. They will, however,
continue to be a viable concern in 2012 due to their profitability. In 2012,
industrialized attackers will focus efforts on “soft targets,” or
organizations without tight security.
4. Employee
misuse and abuse will create steady risk : Employee misuse and
abuse is a problem that is not going away anytime soon, as employees are
increasingly seeking ways to use their personal devices and other computing
conveniences in the workplace. For the most part, employee misuse and abuse
incidents won’t be backed by malicious intent. They can, however, open the
corporate network up to attack, so they should be considered a fairly high risk
in 2012.
5. Fully
automated attacks will trend down : Drive-by automated attacks,
or traditional viruses and worms, have been trending down in recent years, and
they will continue to do so in 2012. The primary concern with automated,
indiscriminate attacks will continue to be business downtime and loss of worker
productivity.
“If 2011 taught us anything, it’s that the targeted,
highly motivated attacker is real. Tomorrow’s threat landscape requires a new
level of preparation when it comes to security,” said Adam Powers, chief
technology officer at Lancope.
“Security solutions that only block attacks at the
perimeter are no longer enough. Instead, organizations should rely on solutions
that provide visibility into the internal network, uncovering both external
attacks that bypass perimeter defenses as well as dangerous insider
activities,” Powers added.
Enterprise-ready flow collection and analysis solutions like Lancope’s
StealthWatch System deliver the situational awareness needed to bolster risk
posture and combat advanced security threats. StealthWatch uncovers both
zero-day attacks that bypass perimeter defenses, as well as internal threats
such as network misconfiguration, policy violations and data leakage.
By Telecomlead.com Team
editor@telecomlead.com
