At one point or another we’ve all been targeted by or indeed fallen victim to a computer virus or malware. Advances in technology mean that today’s machines and available software are more capable than ever of weeding out and preventing attacks. But, as prevention and internet security improve, so do the methods of those carrying out the attacks.
Through their Global Intelligence Network, Symantec have put together their annual report for 2014. It looks at the types of internet security threats and number of attacks as well as vulnerabilities and effects of the attacks. Symantec’s Network is one of the most advanced of its kind; it’s made up of more than 41.5 million attack sensors!
Aside from the many attacks on personal devices, which can cause a great amount of stress and financial problems for the victim (see Ransomware!), attacks on businesses can be catastrophic. Risks to corporations include reputational damage and loss of trust, lawsuits and bankruptcy. 2013 has officially become known as the year of the Mega Breach. The average number of identities exposed in 2013 was 2,181,891 compared with 604,826 in 2012. This was probably down to the campaigns lasting longer, resulting in 8 incidents exposing over 10million IDs compared with only 1 in 2012.
2013 saw an increase in attacks on businesses of all sizes, however 61% of all attacks were aimed at small and medium sized businesses compared with 50% the year before. The perpetrators have been initiating these attacks mainly through spear phishing and watering hole techniques, with larger businesses being the focus for the latter. These types of attacks have allowed cybercriminals to launch more effective campaigns by targeting the victim through its frequently visited websites. The websites are infected with malware which leads to eventually infecting the intended victim. This trend is very concerning as Symantec’s report revealed that 77% of websites scanned in 2013 had vulnerabilities.
From the 98 page Symantec Internet Security 2014 report, we’ve put together this infographic using the findings on business related threats. It looks at everything from types of threats and number of attacks, attacks on specific industries and level of risk to data breach figures and causes.
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