Symantec’s latest Internet Security Threat report suggests that SMBs remain an attractive target for those trying to steal intellectual property.
By Charlie Osborne for Zero Day |
Security giant Symantec’s latest Internet Security Threat reportsays that attacks focused on stealing intellectual property surged by 42 percent in 2012 in comparison to the previous year.
Targeted cyberattacks based on IP theft are being conducted against both the manufacturing industry and smaller businesses, which are likely to have less income to invest in shoring up their defenses against attack. Symantec says that SMBs — with fewer than 250 employees — now account for 31 percent of targeted attacks, and are often seen as a means to gain access to larger firms through “watering hole” techniques.
The average number of targeted attacks has increased to an average of 116 per day, made popular by the Elderwood Gang which was able to infect 500 firms in 24 hours.
Simply put, a “watering hole” attack uses a trusted website as a base to divert visitors to an unsafe, malicious website, where malware can then take advantage of vulnerabilities within a PC system to steal data. The redirect order, usually achieved through finding a vulnerability and then injecting a HTML iframe, can be instantaneous and so the victim doesn’t realize what has occurred. Last month, NBC admitted it was a victim of this type of attack.
An interesting point highlighted within the report is that 61 percent of malicious websites are actually legitimate; targeted by hackers who exploit vulnerabilities and create diversions or channels for malware to be installed on a victim’s PC. Business, technology and ecommerce websites are most likely to be affected due to unpatched website vulnerabilities, and once malware has been downloaded, ransomware is a popular choice for hackers to get their money’s worth — especially when they buy legitimate advertising space to hide their code.
The report suggests that industrial espionage is on the rise, and manufacturing is now the most attractive target for those looking to steal valuable data, accounting for 24 percent of targeted attacks. By choosing targets that are part of a supply chain, hackers are more likely to find third parties which are vulnerable than by taking on larger firms. These weaknesses in a supply chain can lead to the theft of sensitive, corporate data — and cybercriminals have caught on. Instead of going for executives, the security firm says that now knowledge workers and sales representatives are most likely to be targeted.