Tomer Teller, Check
Point: 65% of Targeted Attacks Driven by Financial Fraud
May 26, 2012
A
new survey indicates that 65 percent of organizations who experienced
targeted attacks report the hacker’s motivation was driven by financial
fraud, and resulted in business disruption and the loss of sensitive
information, including intellectual property and trade secrets. The
report, The Impact of Cybercrime on Businesses, also showed companies
reporting an average of 66 new security attack attempts per week, with
successful incidents costing businesses anywhere from $100,000 to
$300,000. Among the list of top threats, Denial of Service (DoS) attacks
were said to pose the greatest risk to organizations.
Cybercriminals today are increasingly leveraging malware, bots and other
forms of sophisticated threats to attack organizations for various
reasons - from financial gain and disruption of business operations to
data theft or attacks driven by political agendas. Regardless of
motivation, new variants of malware are being generated on a daily
basis, often targeting multiple sites and organizations to increase the
likelihood of an attack’s initial success and the potential for threats
to spread quietly throughout an organization.
“Cybercriminals are no longer isolated amateurs. They belong to
well-structured organizations, often employing highly-skilled hackers to
execute targeted attacks, many of whom receive significant amounts of
money depending on the region and nature of the attack,” said Tomer
Teller, security evangelist and researcher at Check Point Software
Technologies. “Cybercrime has become a business. With bot toolkits for
hackers selling today for the mere price of $500, it gives people
insight into how big the problem has become, and the importance of
implementing preemptive protections to safeguard critical assets.”
According to the survey, SQL injections were cited as the most serious
types of attacks organizations had experienced in the last two years,
and more than one third of respondents had each experienced APTs, botnet
infections and DoS attacks. Following investigations of targeted
threats, respondents reported the biggest consequences were a disruption
to their business and the loss of sensitive data and intellectual
property.
“For the most part, the goal of attackers is to obtain valuable
information. These days, credit card data shares space on the shelves of
virtual hacking stores with items such as employee records and Facebook
or email log-ins, as well as zero-day exploits that can be stolen and
sold on the black market ranging anywhere from $10,000 to $500,000,”
added Teller. “Unfortunately, the rate of cybercrime seems to be
climbing as businesses experience a surge in Web 2.0 use and mobile
computing in corporate environments -- giving hackers more channels of
communication and vulnerable entry points into the network.”
“Companies are constantly facing new and costly security risks from both
internal and external sources that can jeopardize the business,” said
Dr. Larry Ponemon, chairman and founder, Ponemon Institute. “While the
types of threats and level of concern companies have may vary across
regions, the good news is that security awareness is rising. Across the
board, C-level executives reported high levels of concern about targeted
attacks and planned to implement security precautions, technology and
training to mitigate the risk of targeted attacks.”
Key Findings from the Report:
Primary
Motivations of Targeted Threats - Following investigations
of cyber-attacks within organizations surveyed, the majority of
respondents reported financial fraud (65%) as the cybercriminal’s
primary motivation, followed by intent to disrupt business
operations (45%) and stealing customer data (45%). Approximately 5%
of security attacks were estimated to have been driven by political
or ideological agendas.
Cybercrime comes in
all shapes and forms – On average, respondents reported SQL
Injections as the most serious security attacks experienced in the
last two years, and more than one third of respondents said they
experienced APTs (35%), botnet Infections (33%) and DoS attacks
(32%).
Targeted attacks
continue to be costly – Survey participants estimated a
single, successful targeted attack costing an average of $214,000
USD. In Germany, respondents reported a higher average estimate of
$300,000 per incident, and Brazil with a lower average of $100,000
per incident. Estimates include variables such as forensic
investigation, investments in technology and brand recovery costs.
Most Common Threat
Vectors – When asked to rank employee activities that pose
the greatest risk, all regions unanimously cited the use of mobile
devices - including smartphones and tablet PCs - as the biggest
concern, followed by social networks and removable media devices
such as USB sticks.
Current technology
investments -- While the majority of companies have
important security building blocks in place, such as Firewall and
Intrusion Prevention solutions, less than half of companies surveyed
have advanced protections to fight botnets and APTs. However, the
majority of organizations in Germany and the US are beginning to
deploy solutions more specific to addressing cyber-risk such as
anti-bot, application control and threat intelligence systems.
Security Training and
Awareness -- Only 64% of companies say they have current
training and awareness programs in place to prevent targeted
attacks.
A
new survey indicates that 65 percent of organizations who experienced
targeted attacks report the hacker’s motivation was driven by financial
fraud, and resulted in business disruption and the loss of sensitive
information, including intellectual property and trade secrets. The
report, The Impact of Cybercrime on Businesses, also showed companies
reporting an average of 66 new security attack attempts per week, with
successful incidents costing businesses anywhere from $100,000 to
$300,000. Among the list of top threats, Denial of Service (DoS) attacks
were said to pose the greatest risk to organizations.