By Steve Frost, BT Security Partnership Manager, Cisco.
With Gartner’s Security Summit around the corner, Steve Frost takes us through some of the major findings from Cisco’s 2016 mid-year security report.
Get up-to-date with cyber security.
With the Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit on the way (taking place in London, 12-13 September), I thought this would be the ideal time to offer insight into current security trends and threats — helping you get up-to-date in preparation for the event.
Distilling information gathered from Cisco’s 2016 mid-year security report, I’ve come up with two problem areas currently causing concern in the realm of cyber security. And to finish up, I’ve also compiled some advice on how to deal with those challenges.
So let’s jump right in.
Problem area one: ageing networks and IT infrastructure.
Security vulnerabilities in outdated IT puts the digital economy at risk. That might sound slightly sensational, but the dangers of running an aging network are well documented. More than 23 per cent of organisations still have vulnerabilities in their networks dating back to 2011. Around 16 per cent have yet to address vulnerabilities first published in 2009. And, shockingly, ten per cent have failed to deal with these problems for over ten years.
Cisco’s research shows that even though defenders are innovating, it’s not enough. Thanks to the hodgepodge of web browsers, applications, and infrastructure in place at most organisations, there are still many entryways for attackers to exploit. Because of ageing infrastructure, there’s an average of 28 vulnerabilities running on each internet device. And these vulnerabilities run on those devices for five years, on average.
As a result, the infrastructure on which the digital economy depends is fragile and reliant on inadequate security practices. And instead of facing the calculated risk of taking critical infrastructure offline temporarily for an upgrade, organisations are placing a bet on the slim-to-none chance they won’t be targeted by attackers.
Problem area two: defenders’ capability versus attackers’ innovation and persistence.
According to Cisco’s research, defenders aren’t protecting systems in a way that matches how attackers do their work; there’s an asymmetry. And although defenders have evolved their strategies and tools for fighting online criminals, attackers are still permitted far too much unconstrained time to operate.
Part of the problem is a lack of visibility, which is leaving organisations open to attacks. Instead of striving for a better view of the threat landscape, security professionals rely on point solutions and a ‘triage’ approach — trying to stop attacks here and there, instead of looking holistically at security challenges. And this is playing to attackers’ strengths.
While defenders refine and innovate their processes to close gaps through vulnerability disclosure and patching, attackers use their skills to open these gaps yet again. This leads to numerous, complex attacks which undermine defenders’ ability to respond.
On top of this, Cisco’s observation of the shadow economy shows that attackers are focusing more on generating revenue. Ransomware has evolved to become the most profitable malware type in history — and businesses are now the target of choice.
The time for action is now.
To combat these threats, there are many actions we can take. We can turn the tables on attackers by pushing them to continuously evolve their threats, reducing their time to operate. And by upgrading aging infrastructure and systems while patching known vulnerabilities, we can undermine the ability of cyber criminals to use those assets to carry out their campaigns.
Many organisations have now reached a tipping point with their infrastructure. They want to simplify and update their devices and software to reduce costs and build a strong IT foundation that will help them succeed in the emerging next-generation digital economy. And this is a great opportunity to harden security and enable visibility throughout networks — and to reduce the unconstrained time to operate that adversaries currently enjoy.
Your next step.
It’s clear that, with all its risks, fragile, insecure infrastructure can’t support the emerging next-generation digital economy. To truly realise the benefits that digitisation and the Internet of Things will bring, organisations need to tackle the security problems that they have now.
Following the solutions I highlighted earlier is a great way to start preparing your organisation for better security and future success. But there’s always more you can do.
I’m sure there’ll be world of insight available at Gartner’s Security Summit.
And if you want even more information on the state of cyber security in 2016, read Cisco’s full mid-year security report.
BT’s at the Gartner Information Security and Risk Management Summit, London, on the 12 and 13 September. We look forward to seeing you at the BT booth, or you can pre-book a one-to-one meeting with one of our senior executives by filling out this form.
