Clare Computer Solution’s partner and security experts, Webroot, revealed the findings on their 2019 Threat Report, displaying many “tried-and-true” attack vectors or methods are still at the top of the list, with new threats emerging every day. It would appear the attackers are innovative, to say the least. This comes just in time, as many of our partners spoke to these very claims at the 2019 RSA Conference hosted just last week in San Francisco, California.
Hal Lonas, Chief Technology Officer at Webroot reports:
“We wax poetic about innovation in the cybersecurity field, but you only have to take one look at the stats in this year’s report to know that the true innovators are the cybercriminals. They continue to find new ways to combine attack methods or compromise new and existing vectors for maximum results. My call to businesses today is to be aware, assess your risk, create a layered approach that protects multiple threat vectors, and, above all, train your users to be an asset, not a weak link in your cybersecurity program.”
Clare Computer Solutions Couldn’t Agree More; Here are some from Webroot’s 2019 Security Report highlights:
- A staggering 40% of malicious URLs were found on “good” or “safe” domains. Legitimate websites are frequently compromised to host malicious content. To protect users’ and employees’ data, cybersecurity needs URL-level visibility or domain-level metrics to accurately showcase these dangers. Far too often, standard antivirus or endpoint protection can lack the capabilities, leaving these links in an employee inbox.
- Phishing attacks have increased by 36%, with the number of malicious sites swelling to 220% from last year. We’ve even seen phishing sites use SSL Certificates, and HTTPS to trick unknowing users into believing they’re secure and legitimate. Microsoft’s latest Security Intelligence Report confirms this with analytics, reporting a 250% increase in phishing messages being sent through Office 365.
- 77% of spear-phishing attacks impersonated financial institutes, most likely to use HTTPS over other types of targets. With over 80% of financial institutions finding compromised links residing on an HTTPS page.
- Google followed by Microsoft, and UPS/FedEx ranked among the most impersonated brands in phishing overall for 2019.
- Security Awareness Training reports from Webroot and KnowBe4 both show an average of 80% less likely to fall for phishing attempts, especially with phishing simulations and on-demand training.
- One-third of all malware makes attempts to hide inside of %appdata% folders. What makes these locations prime for hiding is the commonality between paths. Every user directory, with full user permissions, will install here and are hidden by default in most operating systems. Although malware can and will hide almost anywhere, the most common locations are as follows:
– 29.4% in %appdata%
– 24.5% in %temp%
– 17.5% in %cache% - Devices using Windows 10 are at least 2x more secure than those systems still on Windows 7. Webroot has reported a steady decline in malware on Windows 10 machines in the business space.
Furthering your Security Measures
While ransomware was less of a problem in 2018, it has become more targeted, and companies, customers, and employees will fall victim to ransomware. In 2018, many attacks saw the use of Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) as an attack vector, leveraging tools to scan systems with inadequate RDP settings. It’s these unsecured RDP connections that hackers can use to gain access to a given system and browse through all its shared data. further providing criminals with sensitive information that ransomware can exploit.
Begin furthering your security measures today with the use of a cybersecurity assessment. Easily track your current security posture, and rely on the experts to build you a roadmap for securing your business. Dive deeper into your network than ever before with the use of our Security Posture Assessment from Clare Computer Solutions. If you wish to view the Webroot report, you can find that here.
