Security

27 June 2017 – WatchGuard®’s  latest quarterly Internet Security Report reveals that despite an overall drop in malware detection, Linux malware made up more than 36 percent of the top threats identified in Q1 2017. The increased presence of Linux/Exploit, Linux/Downloader and Linux/Flooder attacks highlights the need to protect Linux-based IoT devices and Linux servers from the internet with layered defences.

Other key findings from the Q1 2017 report include:

Maidenhead, U.K. – June 20, 2017 – When WannaCry hit, the world learned that for two months a patch had been available that would have prevented the problem. But its victims were those that hadn’t yet deployed this patch. As many companies discovered the hard way, there is an unacceptable ‘risk window’ that persists between the discovery of a software vulnerability and when the patch is successfully installed. In 2016 17,147 vulnerabilities were recorded in 2,136 products from 246 vendors. 81 percent of those vulnerabilities had patches available on the same day as disclosure. But, on average, it takes companies 186 days to completely install those patches[1].

By Ian Kilpatrick, Executive Vice-President Cyber Security at Nuvias Group

For several years, the IT industry has enthusiastically extolled the virtues of the Internet of Things (IoT), eager to enlighten us to the difference that living in a connected world will make to all our lives.

Now the IoT is here - in our homes and in the workplace. Its uses range widely, from domestic time-savers like switching on the heating, to surveillance systems, to “intelligent” light bulbs, to the smart office dream. 

It was basically only a question of time. Sooner or later, it was clear that cyber-criminals would get their hands on a security flaw that would help them start the scale of attack we saw recently. Nevertheless, its effects still surprised everyone – there were reports practically every minute about newly-infected hospitals, car makers and transport companies. It made us see how weak our entire digital infrastructure really is. Despite quick-fix security measures, including a patch for obsolete operating systems, companies are not all protected against infection – far from it. That’s because updates and patches are not even an option for many of them. Effective protection needs to start at a completely different level. 

Maidenhead, U.K. – May 15, 2017 – As the fallout from the #WannaCry ransomware attack continues to reverberate around the world, a new report by software vulnerability and patch management expert, Flexera, has an ominous warning for companies and individuals: the threat is growing – and people are getting lazier about protecting themselves.

Maidenhead, UK – May 10, 2017 – Flexera, the company that’s reimagining the way software is bought, sold, managed and secured, announced today it’s reimagining software supply chain safety. Flexera’s the first-in-industry to embed open source security into the heart of the software development build process with automatic analysis detection. It will help keep the software supply chain secure by enabling 100,000 developers around the world to sell clean products, free of open source vulnerabilities and license compliance risk.

London, UK – 8 May 2017 – New research reveals that cyberattacks on the government sector doubled in 2016, hiking to 14% from 7% of all cyber security attacks in 2015. Attacks on the finance sector also rose dramatically from just 3% in 2015 to 14% of all attacks in 2016. 

The manufacturing sector came in at third place at 13%, while the retail sector, which topped the list of all cybersecurity attacks on all sectors in 2015 moved down into fourth place (11%).