Remote users expose companies to cybercrime

Results of new remote access security research show half of companies with a remote workforce had their websites compromised in 2012, over a third had passwords hacked, and twice as many companies with remote users were victims of SQL injection attacks.

Conducted by Webroot, the study indicates that data theft is the primary goal in new types of mobile attacks. Scenarios include malicious threats that use e-mail, SMS and mobile Web browsers to launch an attack, then silently record and steal data.

Top-level corporate study findings:

• 64% of companies allow remote access to servers for 25% to 100% of employees
• 90% of companies agree that managing the security of remote users is extremely challenging
• 71% of Web security professionals who say managing remote users is highly challenging experienced Web-borne phishing attacks in 2012.

The proliferation of mobile devices for business use and the need to grant remote user access exposes corporate networks to high rates of malware threats, including phishing attacks, spyware, keyloggers and hacked passwords.

While allowing such devices to access company resources aids productivity, the potential for new exploits to compromise businesses creates significant security risks to the organization and private data. Enabling remote access to corporate servers requires sensible policies and controls to ensure network security.

The study, which surveyed Web security decision-makers in the United States and United Kingdom, found that companies with 25% or more of their workforce using remote access experience higher rates of Web attacks due to a lack of such protection measures.

“These days, there is so much risk involved from a corporate perspective that remote access protection must be part of all basic tool kits. Vulnerabilities in mobile Web browsers pose a major threat to mobile device security and our latest study shows that they have led to an increasing number of successful attacks in 2012,” said David Duncan , Chief Marketing Officer at Webroot. “Mobile browser security is essential to reduce the vulnerabilities from websites containing malware and stop phishing attacks. This should be mandatory if employees are to have remote access to any corporate network or other corporate online resources via their mobile devices.”