Websense Security Labs Research Shows Upsurge
of Attacks Aimed at Facebook, iPads, and Smartphones
SAN DIEGO – (NASDAQ: WBSN) – December 16,
2010 –
If you thought 2010 was
challenging, just wait for 2011. Below are our top five 2011 security
predictions for the coming year:
Prediction #1: The Stuxnet sequels are coming, stay tuned for “When State-sponsored
Malware Attacks!”
- Stuxnet
targeted critical industrial infrastructure, but it was only a preview. Based
on how long it takes to develop complicated attacks like Stuxnet, we predict
similar exploits will be carried out once or twice in 2011. These state-sponsored
offenses will test national infrastructure systems to determine what is
effective for future attacks.
Prediction #2: Only the strong survive blended threats. Companies will
struggle to stay secure while covering more ground.
- Blended
threats like Zeus and SpyEye will continue to evolve and use a variety of
delivery methods. Today’s threats are no longer binary files delivered in
attachments; they are script-based or are embedded within rich media. Many
spread rapidly through social media.
- Strained
IT departments will need to defend more territory and allow more access,
despite these increasingly sophisticated threats.
Prediction #3: Status update: More corporate data breaches will occur
over social media channels.
- Search
poisoning won’t be limited to Google, it will migrate to Facebook. Hackers will
manipulate Facebook search algorithms to trick users into visiting fake brand
and celebrity pages and increase exposure to malware.
- Employees
will post confidential corporate data to public pages.
- Social
media users will also be vulnerable to spam and malicious data-stealing content.
Prediction #4: You down with DLP? Malware exploit kits will add zero-day
vulnerabilities faster, increasing their use in drive-by download attacks.
- As
more targeted attacks are researched, more zero-day vulnerabilities will be
discovered.
- Data
loss prevention and up-to-the-minute threat protection will become increasingly
more important as organizations work to keep malicious content out and
corporate information in.
Prediction #5: Is there an app for that? The iPad, iPhone and other smartphones will
be prime targets for cybercriminals.
- Mobile
devices are a gold mine of personal and confidential data. Cybercriminals will
successfully use mobile drive-by download attacks to steal confidential data
and expose users to malicious content.
- Many
of next year’s mobile attacks will exploit the mobile Web browsers in the
iPhone, iPad and Android-based devices. Rogue applications will also increase
in number and sophistication.
These predictions
are based on Websense® Security Labs™ research. The team examined the reputation
and behavioral analysis of Websense ThreatSeeker™ Network intelligence, which uses more than 50
million real-time data collecting systems to analyze one billion pieces of
content daily. Together with the Websense Advanced Classification Engine
(ACE), the ThreatSeeker Network provides Websense with
unparalleled visibility into the state of content on the Internet and in email.
Quote(s):
“2011 will bring a series of dangerous threats that strip
corporate data and immobilize infrastructure,” said Patrik Runald, senior
manager of Security Research, Websense. “Most traditional security methods
don’t work. Companies and governance need to constantly evaluate those
defenses. Up-to-the-minute threat protection that unifies content intelligence is
an organization’s best defense against Web attacks, messaging breaches and data
loss.”
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View Websense Security
Labs Threat Report for 2010
Keep up
to date on the latest threats by visiting the Websense Security Labs Blog: http://community.websense.com/blogs/securitylabs/
Read
more about these predictions on the Websense Insights blog.
Click to view a behind-the-scenes video
featuring Websense Labs top security researchers explaining ACE. It’s Websense’s
unique and proprietary real-time content classification tool, which protects
customers against the most complex known and unknown Web threats and data
leakage.
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English (US)