Internet (In)Security. Check out the latest data

Data concerning internet security are terrifying. Each year there is more and more malware and spyware. But alas, most of the companies are not prepared for that. The research study commissioned by Check Point, one of our technological partners, shows that there are major problems with security infrastructure everywhere in the world. This explains why there are portals such as Blacstuff.net, which allows an attacker to purchase credit card number or other sensitive information.

Risks

The study embraced 20k institutions worldwide. According to Check Point every minute organizations are exposed to malware. Stealing banking credentials, other sensitive corporate information (emails, messages, keystrokes, calls, employee location), disabling system, gaining remote access, and opening a backdoor for attacks are only a few potential IT risks.

Source: Security Report 2015 by Check Point

Moreover, every year there is more and more threats. From 2013 to 2014 the number of new malware increased by more than 71%, from 83 million to 142 million. What is even more interesting is the fact that more malware was found in the last two years than in the period 2002-2012 combined. In this light that is hardly surprising that 81% of the organizations sampled had suffered a data loss incident (usually at a rate of 1.7 times per hour, i.e. 41 times per day).

There are also other meaningful indicators of a huge virus thread. Some of these incidents are caused by an internal error (in the case of phishing) but some are simply caused by the insufficient infrastructure or unreliable protection architecture.

Source: Security Report 2015 by Check Point

It is also interesting that attackers can be found all over the world. For instance their servers are located mainly in the USA but not only there. Check out other places.

Source: Security Report 2015 by Check Point

Flawed Protection and Best Practices

According to Check Point’s findings, 20 percent of enterprise hosts are not running a desktop firewall, 10 percent don’t have updated service packs, 25 percent don’t have updated versions of their software and, what’s probably the most striking fact, 17 percent don’t have anti-virus software at all. Furthermore, in 35 percent of cases users have administrator permissions what put them at even greater risk. Those are basic problems, but insufficient infrastructure can be as dangerous, as they are.

Nowadays, leading software providers propose to build security system comprising three layers. Enforcement Layer is a gateway bundled with endpoint-based protection plan. This solution scans, identifies and blocks malware and botnets. The Control Layer allows the administrator to create rules that define access control and data security policies. Management Layer is related to reporting which enables the administrators to be up-to-date with possible solutions and relevant information. Comarch as a global IT services provider has vast experience in designing and building security solutions. Always tailored to the needs of a particular organization. 

Paulina Świątek, Business Solution Manager