Symantec reports busy year as cybercrime hits companies

GLOBAL software security group Symantec blocked 5,5-billion malicious software virus attacks last year, an increase of 81%, according to the company’s latest internet security threat report.

Businesses and consumers have been under attack from cybercriminals and this has seen many of them lose millions of rand. The report also highlights that advanced cyber attacks are spreading to organisations of all sizes and that attackers are also focusing on mobile devices.

A recent Deloitte report on cybercrime similarly shows cyber threats are no longer limited to “public-sponsored espionage or the lone wolf hacker”. Today, wellorganised cybercriminals perpetrate highly sophisticated attacks, often for financial gain, according to Deloitte.

“Attackers are motivated to target digital assets due to the increasing value of these assets – driven by business and society’s growing dependence on them – and the perceived lower risk of detection and capture in conducting cybercrime when compared with more traditional crime,” the company said.

Symantec found that in SA, the average spam rate for last year was 72%, while the global average was 75,1%. The average virus rate in SA was one in every 174,1 emails while the average global rate was one in every 238,8 e-mails.

“In 2011 cyber criminals greatly expanded their reach, with nearly 20% of targeted attacks now directed at companies with fewer than 250 employees,” said Jayson O’reilly, security practice manager for Symantec.

“We’ve also seen a large increase in attacks on mobile devices, making these devices a viable platform for attackers to leverage in targeting sensitive data. Organisations of all sizes need to be vigilant about protecting their information.”

Hacking incidents posed the greatest threat, exposing 187million identities last year — the greatest number of any type of breach last year, he said.

Mr O’reilly said the “bring your own device” to work phenomenon was also posing a threat to organisations.

The phenomenon has seen some companies connect their employees’ personal devices to the corporate’s network to enable them to access information anywhere and anytime. He said the devices were not an issue but the problem was the information that would be accessible on those devices as cybercriminals may have access to it.