Sophos Releases Security Threat Report 2013

Sophos has released its Security Threat Report 2013, a detailed assessment of what’s happened in IT security for 2012 and what’s expected for 2013–from the ever-growing bring your own device (BYOD) movement to the increasing adoption of the cloud to countless other security challenges faced by organizations of all sizes.

2012 was a year of new platforms and modern malware-what was once a homogeneous world of Windows systems, is now a landscape made up of diverse platforms. Modern malware is taking advantage of these trends, creating new challenges for IT security professionals.

Unprotected computers are vulnerable to different kinds of malware attack. Exposure to the majority, but not all, comes from simply clicking on links in emails or browsing web pages that happen to be carrying malicious code. Although some websites are created with the intention of infecting visitors, legitimate websites continue to be a popular target for cybercriminals, as once they are compromised; they will infect completely unsuspecting internet users.

“Two of the defining terms of 2012 are ‘empower’ and ‘evolve.’ Attacks and threats-on PCs, Macs and mobile devices-continue to evolve as does the technology to combat them,” said Gerhard Eschelbeck, CTO, Sophos.

While a large proportion of cybercrime continues to be opportunistic, Sophos believes that, in 2013, increased availability of malware testing platforms - some even providing criminals with money back guarantees - will make it more likely for malware to slip through traditional business security systems. As a result, we can expect to see an increase in the number of incidents where attackers have gained and sustained surreptitious access to corporate networks.