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Analyst Reports & Industry Surveys

Breaches aided by weak passwords, poor AV detection

Dan Kaplan February 09, 2012

Trustwave's annual review of its data breach response investigations concluded that franchises are now the prime target for hackers seeking customer data, such as credit card numbers.

Hacktivist-led DDoS is now the most common type, study finds

Dan Kaplan February 08, 2012

DDoS attackers motivated by social or political purposes are more common than conventional criminals out for financial gain, concluded a new report from Arbor Networks.

Study: BlackHole appears, Conficker remains

Dan Kaplan January 26, 2012

Eighty-five percent of all malware is web-based, and some 30,000 websites are newly infected with malicious code each day, according to Sophos' "Security Threat Report 2012."

Spam drop, but targeted attack rise, is key 2011 takeaway

Angela Moscaritolo December 20, 2011

Spam volume dropped dramatically from 379 billion messages daily in August 2010 to 124 billion this November, according to Cisco, as crooks opted for more pinpointed attacks that could fly under the radar.

Security spending to increase in 2012, survey shows

Dan Kaplan November 22, 2011

While the nation's economy remains in the tank, the information security market appears to be avoiding a major slowdown.

Trojans, Anonymous, Android threats dominate landscape

Greg Masters November 04, 2011

Three out of every four new malware strains created during the third quarter was a trojan, says a new report from PandaLabs.

Internet privacy tools too confusing for most users

Angela Moscaritolo November 03, 2011

Most individuals don't understand how to configure advertising "opt-out" tools, according to a new study, which means the debate over how best to give users control over their privacy rages on.

Study finds many turn to lawsuits following a data breach

Dan Kaplan November 02, 2011

Consumers are more willing than ever to sue following a data breach, but they face an uphill climb in court. However, a recent court ruling may flip the odds in their favor.

Breaches lead to major reputation, brand damage

Angela Moscaritolo October 28, 2011

A survey of 843 executives found that a company's brand value dropped between 17 to 31 percent following a breach.

Most businesses lack social media security controls

Angela Moscaritolo September 29, 2011

Just 32 percent of U.S. IT and IT security practitioners said their company has a policy that addresses the acceptable use of social media by employees in the workplace.

Corporate bank fraud losses expected to total $210M

Angela Moscaritolo September 26, 2011

Businesses in North America are expected to lose $210 million this year to corporate bank account takeovers, according to a new report from financial research and consulting firm Aite Group. The report, "Banks and Business in the Crosshairs: Cybercrime and Its Impact," estimates that losses from these seizures, by which hackers gain control of online bank accounts to make unauthorized transfers, will grow to $371 million by 2015. Moreover, the number of new, unique strains of malware released each year is expected to increase - from 25 million by the close of 2011 to 87 million by the end of 2015.

Cybercrime costs $388B annually, report says

Angela Moscaritolo September 07, 2011

The cost of digital crimes now rivals the illegal drug trade, according to a new report from Symantec.

Just slip out the hack, Jack

David Harley, ESET senior research fellow July 27, 2011

Despite a new report warning of a sharp increase in automated web application attacks, this doesn't necessarily signal a rise in cybercrime.

Smartphones safer than desktops, but not without risks

Angela Moscaritolo June 28, 2011

Apple's iOS and Google's Android mobile platforms are more secure than traditional desktop operating systems though both are still vulnerable to many types of attacks, according to a new report.

Medical ID theft on the rise, says new study

Greg Masters March 15, 2011

Consumers are not familiar enough with the dangers of medical identity theft, according to a Ponemon study released this week.

Study finds $214 per breached record in 2010

Angela Moscaritolo March 08, 2011

Data breaches cost organizations $7.2 million on average in 2010, up seven percent from $6.8 million the previous year, according to a new study.

Spam wanes, while web attacks surge

Greg Masters March 04, 2011

Malware delivered through spam may be taking a backseat to trojans delivered via social networking sites and web searches, according to a report from Barracuda Networks.

RSA Conference study to reveal cloud frustration

Angela Moscaritolo February 09, 2011

Security practitioners are working to safeguard cloud computing environments but believe they need more education and training, according to a soon-to-be released study conducted by analyst firm Frost & Sullivan.

Critical infrastructure lacking cyber supply chain security

Angela Moscaritolo November 30, 2010

Critical infrastructure firms are not adequately securing their "cyber supply chains," and thus face an increased risk of attacks that could impact business operations and disrupt service delivery, according to new analyst findings.

Analyst firm estimates cloud security market to hit $1.5 bil

Angela Moscaritolo October 21, 2010

The cloud security market is expected to grow to $1.5 billion by 2015, with nearly five percent of IT security technology spending allocated for those services, according to a report released Wednesday by research firm Forrester.

Costs and causes of data-loss incidents to be discussed

Greg Masters October 20, 2010

Todd Thibodeaux, president and CEO of CompTIA, will present research from a recent study, which looks at causes and costs involved with IT security breaches.

Most large companies have suffered intrusions

Angela Moscaritolo October 12, 2010

The amount of large companies that have been hit by hackers has "increased significantly" since last year, according to a new survey commissioned by VanDyke Software and conducted by Amplitude Research. In the survey of 350 IT managers and network administrators, 67 percent of respondents from companies with 5,000 or more employees reported an intrusion this year of user machines, their office network and/or servers, up from 41 percent who said the same in 2009. Meanwhile, among midsize companies with 1,000 to 4,999 employees, 59 percent reported an intrusion in 2010, up from 57 percent in 2009. The amount of small companies with 100 to 999 employees who reported intrusions decreased to 43 percent in 2010, from 45 percent last year. — AM

Education sector most affected by malware

Angela Moscaritolo October 04, 2010

Colleges and universities have been most targeted by malware writers, according to a report issued Monday by anti-virus firm Trend Micro.

IBM admits erring in statistics on vendor patching

Dan Kaplan August 31, 2010

The IBM X-Force research team has revised a part of its recently released trends and risk report that analyzed how well popular software vendors did in patching vulnerabilities disclosed in the first half of the year.

Security defenses limited at SMBs, survey finds

Angela Moscaritolo August 27, 2010

Nearly half of all small and midsize businesses (SMBs) have fallen victim to cybercrime, yet some still are operating with no security defenses in place, according to a report released this week by anti-virus firm Panda Security.

IBM report shows new flaws skyrocket in first half of year

Dan Kaplan August 25, 2010

IBM X-Force's mid-year threat report examined trends in vulnerability disclosures, techniques used to foist malware and risks to virtual environments, plus much more.

Cybercrime costs businesses $3.8 million per year

Angela Moscaritolo July 26, 2010

Web attacks, malware and insider threats can cost organizations millions of dollars in losses each year, according to a new Ponemon Institute study.

United States lacking adequate cyber workforce

Angela Moscaritolo July 19, 2010

The United States is lacking an adequate number of individuals within the federal government and private sector with the technical skills necessary to secure cyberspace, concludes a new public policy report.

Software flaws, delayed patching reign so far this year

Dan Kaplan July 12, 2010

2010 is on pace to become a record-setting year for software vulnerabilities, and third-party applications that are not properly patched are a major blame, according to a new Secunia report.

GAO: Federal agencies lack advisement on cloud security

Dan Kaplan July 06, 2010

A growing number of federal agencies are running some form of cloud computing, but nearly all lack policies around securing data hosted offsite, according to a new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).