Cybercrimes More Sophisticated, But So Too Are Countermeasures
According to the Cisco 2009 Midyear Security Report, internet criminals are becoming more sophisticated, using increasingly targeted attacks. However, Cisco predicts that increased collaboration between organizations, like what we saw with Conficker, and new security policies may make it more difficult for attacks to infiltrate and spread.
The Midyear Security Report provides an overview of Cisco security intelligence, including information about new threats and trends, for the first half of 2009. Highlights from the Report:
- Criminals are exploiting traditional vulnerabilities because they believe security experts and users are paying little attention to these types of threats.
- Compromising legitimate websites to propagate malware remains a highly effective technique
- Web 2.0 applications have become lures for criminals
- Criminals are now targeting online banking customers using well-designed, localized text message scams
- The Obama administration has made strengthening U.S. cybersecurity a high priority, and plans to meet threats by using technological innovations and partnering with the private sector. Other countries are following suit.
- Compared to 2008, the number of vulnerabilities and discrete threats has not risen as quickly.
Given the interest in insider threats, the report also details a possible increase in this threat given the current economic instability. This section of the report simply reiterates other studies and articles on the topic, simply providing context for what could be a growing security trend.
Via eweek
