Cyber security
is rapidly becoming a significant issue in the C-suite as well as the
population at large. The results of Dell’s Global Technology Adoption Index(GTAI) [1] show that security is a top concern for most of the 2000 global small
and medium businesses surveyed. The outcomes further noted that such concerns
create barriers to the adoption of critical technologies that drive value and
growth: mobility, cloud and big data. In
fact, many businesses are unprepared to address their potential security issues.
In addition,
several large data breaches have raised the awareness of cyber security in the
consciousness of the general population. For example, the Target security breach in December, 2013 resulted in hackers accessing 40 million credit card
records of customers from every store [2]. The Open Security Foundation’s (OSF) data loss database [3] contains information on data security breaches,
including recent and large incidents. For example, recent breaches include 3.65
million records stolen from the United States Postal Service on November 10th
and 2.7 million stolen from HSBC Bank A.S. on November 12th, both of
this year.
Cyber attacks
are on the increase, with six of the top 10 largest incidents occurring in 2013
(402M) and 2014 (469M to date) [1]. A diverse set of industries is targeted. A
mid-year breach report from Risk Based Security and the OSF [4] cited that 59%
of reported attacks were in the business sector, followed by 16.1% from the
government. Other reports show a data breach focus on the Finance &
Insurance and Manufacturing industries (IBM [5]), and the Electronics
Manufacturing and Agriculture and Mining industries (Cisco [6]).
The majority
of these attacks are due to hacking, fraud and social engineering. For example,
in the first half of 2014, 84.6% of cyber security incidents were due to
external hacking, with an increased percentage of events exposing passwords,
user names and email [4]. The resulting breaches occur primarily through
malware, including Trojan horses, adware, worms, viruses and downloaders [6].
Moreover, the overwhelming majority (95%) of security events evaluated by IBM
include human error as a contributing factor [5].
DATA BREACH SOURCES
Let’s examine
these primary sources of data breaches and high-level methodologies for
minimizing such events. Malware is malicious software created for egregious
objectives. It is designed to disrupt IT and other computer operational
environments and to gain access to sensitive data, such as personal records.
Access is precipitated through various communication methodologies, such as
email and instant message (IM) attachments, endpoints in an IT environment,
applications and other vulnerabilities within such infrastructures as
discovered by the attacker. Malware is intended to be quiet and hidden as it
enters environments and is executed. There is a plethora of various types of
existing malware; however, Presented in Table 1 is a summary of the most active
and effective malware [6] today.
|
MALWARE
|
DESCRIPTION
|
|
Trojan
|
Deceptive
code hidden inside software that appears to be safe
|
|
Adware
|
Advertising-supported
software that can collect user information when executed (also known as
spyware)
|
|
Worm
|
Standalone
software that replicates functional copies by exploiting vulnerabilities in
targeted systems
|
|
Virus
|
Code that
can corrupt or remove files, spread to other computers (e.g., via email) and
attaches itself into files and other programs
|
|
Downloader
|
Software
that downloads executable malicious code without the users knowledge or
consent
|
Figure 1. Most Active Malware Today.
Social
engineering is a methodology that enables a perpetrator to persuade or induce
an individual to provide sensitive information or access to the unauthorized
perpetrator. The attacker is typically able to do this by exploiting the fact
that most people want to be helpful and avoid confrontation. By leveraging
social media, face-to-face contact, telecommunications and other communication
mechanisms, attackers are able to obtain information and access, either
piecemeal or holistically, that permits their access to data, networks and
other infrastructure.
MINIMIZING OR AVERTING ATTACKS
The best
protection against malware includes anti-malware and Internet security
software. Such software can find and remove the overwhelming majority of the
known malware prevalent today. Lists of the best antivirus and Internet
security software, according to PCMag.org [7][8], are included in Table1 and
Table 2, respectively, below:
|
ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE
|
|
Webroot Secure Anywhere Antivirus (2015)
|
|
Norton AntiVirus (2014)
|
|
Kaspersky AntiVirus (2015)
|
|
Bitdefender Antivirus Plus (2015)
|
|
F-Secure Anti-Virus 2014
|
Table 2. Top Antivirus Software [7].
|
INTERNET SECURITY SOFTWARE
|
|
Bitdefender Total Security (2014)
|
|
Norton Internet Security (2014)
|
|
Webroot SecureAnywhere Internet Security (2014)
|
|
Kaspersky Internet Security (2014)
|
|
McAfee Internet Security (2014)
|
Table 2. Top Internet Security Software [8].
It is
important that you keep your anti-malware and Internet security current, as new
malware is introduced on a regular basis.
In addition,
regular education is crucial for minimizing the impact of social engineering
related attacks. The knowledge of how attackers can aggregate bits of
information into a comprehensive collection of sensitive information is
important in preventing individuals from sharing such information or providing
access to friendly people.
Finally, it is
paramount that users remain diligent regarding their passwords. The data shows
that the majority of information obtained by attacks relates to sensitive
personal information, including passwords. Also, programs that crack passwords
or obtain them from other sources are readily available. Various lists of what
to do, and not do, regarding passwords are readily available and is not
included here. However, while it is difficult to remember all passwords for all
of the authentication and access entry points used by an individual, one rule
of thumb can be helpful. Make your passwords long, include digits and symbols,
and use the first letter of a phrase you are most likely to remember. For
example, from a line in the poem “Phenomenal Women” by Maya Angelou, who died
this year, “I’m a woman Phenomenally, Phenomenal woman, That’s me”, one can
create the password, “Iawp,pwtmMA14”. This includes the first letter of the
words in this line, the poet’s initials and the year of death.
Moving
forward, cyber attacks will be more prevalent, even as infrastructure growth,
including network bandwidth, applications, mobile devices and other endpoints
become more prolific. It is important to always be mindful of your activities,
and know that education, due diligence and the relevant anti-malware and
Internet security software can address the majority of security threats.
1. Global Technology Adoption Index, Dell,
November 4, 2014
2. Riley, Michal, et.al., “Missed Alarms and 40 Million Credit Card Numbers: How Target Blew It”, Bloomberg Business Week,
www.businessweek.com, March 13, 2014.
3. Open Security Foundation,
DataLossDB , www.datalossdb.org
4. Risk Based Security, OSF, Data
Breach QuickView: Data Breach Trends
during the First Half of 2014, July, 2014
5. IBM Security Services 2014 Cyber
Security Intelligence Index, June, 2014
6. The Cisco 2014 Annual Security
Report, Cisco, 2014
7. Rubenking, Neil J., “The Best
Antivirus for 2014”, www.pcmag.com, October
14, 2014
8. Rubenking, Neil J., “Best Security
Suites for 2014”, www.pcmag.com, April 23,
2014
(This post was written as part of the Dell Insight Partners program, which provides news and analysis about the evolving world of tech. To learn more about tech news and analysis visit Tech Page One. Dell sponsored this article, but the opinions are our own and don’t necessarily represent Dell’s positions or strategies.)
