Verizon Enlists Top E-threats for 2009

Verizon Business in its latest security report highlights 15 most prevalent malicious attacks for 2009. These were spyware, SQL injection and remote control program attacks that targeted a large number of businesses.

The report states that spyware and keyloggers were responsible for 19% the total data hacks during 2009. On the other hand, SQL injection and remote control program attacks accounted for 18% of the total incidences. Other attacks, though with very low impacts, were brute-force hacking, seizure of certain data files, and other kinds of online phishing, the report states.

The report also states that although many ways and opportunities are available to stop the assaults, organizations do not seem to take action as they fail to recognize the alert signals.

Together with these, the report cites some security threat incidences occurred during 2009 in a section called Case Example. According to one, the law enforcement officials alerted a medium sized manufacturer of medical instruments that its systems were making interactions with Internet Protocol addresses involved in criminal acts. On investigating, Verizon found that the dubious act emanated from a laptop of the company's IT personnel. The investigators also found later following the disk's imaging that the system had some malware.

Commenting on the above incident, the security specialists stated that it reminded a stark truth that malware incidences could hit even the information technology departments.

Steve Hurn, Chief Executive Officer of Secerno, an online security company, stated that there was hardly anything surprising in the report of Verizon, as security specialists had observed the same attacks previous year (2008). The CEO projected that three threats responsible for most attacks - global crime gangs, maliciously minded intermediate contractors, and SQL injections - would keep on plaguing organizations during 2010, as reported by SCMagazine on December 10, 2009.

Hurn continued that SQL injections could increase in 2010 ahead of proper controls by the industry. Moreover, such attacks could result in 90% of all breaches, in case controls weren't speedily deployed, he added.

Related article: Virginia - Top Spammer Challenges the anti-spam Law

» SPAMfighter News - 12/22/2009