Increased SEO poisoning will drive record malware outbreaks
Surges in SEO poisoning will yield record-breaking malware outbreaks for businesses in 2011 according to TriGeo.
In addition to SEO poisoning attacks in 2011, companies should expect to see:
Attackers increasingly targeting vulnerabilities in mobile devices – specifically the iPhone and the iPad. The consumerization of IT continues to present a significant risk to businesses.
As new, popular mobile devices are introduced into the workplace, look for hackers to uncover new mobile device vulnerabilities that lead to increased data breaches.
Data breaches at schools and hospitals yield record-breaking financial losses in 2011. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, educational and medical institutions accounted for more than a third of all data breaches in 2010, as well as some of the largest breaches of the year, including two at the University of Hawaii (nearly 100,000 records exposed), and AvMed Health Plans (1.2 million records breached).
Additionally, the healthcare industry was hit with a Ponemon Institute study concluding that data breaches were costing the field more than $6 billion per year. Look for this trend to continue to escalate in 2011.
More gray-hat hacks in 2011. WikiLeaks has evoked mixed responses from supporters and critics. Expect to see more gray-hat hackers using their technical capabilities as a cyber soapbox that exposes potential risks and vulnerabilities.
More scrutiny for SaaS security. Software-as-a-Service providers will focus less on improving availability and more on security. SaaS will continue to increase in popularity, and as a result, auditors will need to see a clear audit trail of SaaS application activity from end-users.
Look for tighter integration between SaaS applications and internal monitoring and security technologies.
“Results for popular searches on global events in 2010 like the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, the World Cup and the launch of the new iPhone were flooded with hacker-developed websites infested with malware,” said Michelle Dickman, president and CEO of TriGeo Network Security.
“Employees are a huge vulnerability to organizations. Companies need to set and enforce policies on social networking and general Internet browsing, and actively monitor all network activity to detect and prevent widespread and devastating infections.”