cyber trends
IT managers
inundated with
cyberattacks from
all directions . . .
.
SOPHOS, A GLOBAL LEADER IN
NETWORK AND ENDPOINT SECURITY,
HAS ANNOUNCED THE FINDINGS OF ITS
SURVEY, THE IMPOSSIBLE PUZZLE OF
CYBERSECURITY.
R
esearch carried
out by Sophos
has revealed that
IT managers are
inundated with
cyberattacks
coming from all
directions and are struggling to keep
up due to a lack of security expertise,
budget and up to date technology.
The survey polled 3,100 IT decision
makers from mid-sized businesses in the
US, Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil,
UK, France, Germany, Australia, Japan,
India and South Africa.
Cybercriminals use multiple
attack methods and payloads for
maximum impact
The Sophos survey shows how attack
techniques are varied and often
multi-staged, increasing the difficulty
to defend networks. One in five IT
18
managers surveyed didn’t know how
they were breached and the diversity of
attack methods means no one defensive
strategy is a silver bullet.
“Cybercriminals are evolving their
attack methods and often use multiple
payloads to maximise profits. Software
exploits were the initial point of entry
in 23% of incidents, but they were also
used in some fashion in 35% of all
attacks, demonstrating how exploits
are used at multiple stages of the
attack chain,” said Chester Wisniewski,
Principal Research Scientist, Sophos.
“Organisations that are only patching
externally facing high-risk servers
are left vulnerable internally and
cybercriminals are taking advantage of
this and other security lapses.”
The wide range, multiple stages and
scale of today’s attacks are proving
effective. For example, 53% of those
who fell victim to a cyberattack were
hit by a phishing email and 30% by
Issue 16
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