IBM X-Force Report: Cyber Threats Accelerate, Browser Vulnerabilities Proliferate in First Half of 2008
2008-07-29 07:01:00
IBM X-Force Report: Cyber Threats Accelerate, Browser Vulnerabilities Proliferate in First Half of 2008
IBM X-Force Report: Cyber Threats Accelerate, Browser Vulnerabilities Proliferate in First Half of 2008
Mid-Year Report From IBM Internet Security Systems X-Force® Finds 94 Percent of Browser-Related Exploits Occurred Within 24 Hours of Vulnerability Disclosure
ARMONK, NY–(EMWNews – July 29, 2008) – IBM (
X-Force 2008 Midyear Trend Statistics report that indicates cyber-criminals
are adopting new automation techniques and strategies that allow them to
exploit vulnerabilities much faster than ever before. The new tools are
being implemented on the Internet by organized criminal elements, and at
the same time public exploit code published by researchers are putting more
systems, databases and ultimately, people at risk of compromise.
According to the X-Force report, 94 percent of all browser-related online
exploits occurred within 24 hours of official vulnerability disclosure.
These attacks, known-as “zero-day” exploits, are on the Internet before
people even know they have a vulnerability that needs to be patched in
their systems.
This phenomenon is being driven by sophisticated cyber-criminals’ adoption
and evolution of automated tools for creating and delivering exploit tools,
as well as the lack of a set protocol for disclosing vulnerabilities in the
research industry. The practice of disclosing exploit code along with a
security advisory has been the accepted practice for many security
researchers. However, according to the X-Force report, vulnerabilities
disclosed by independent researchers are twice as likely to have zero-day
exploit code published, calling into question how researchers practice
vulnerability disclosure and signifying the need for a new standard in the
industry.
“The two major themes in the first half of 2008 were acceleration and
proliferation,” said X-Force Operations Manager Kris Lamb. “We see a
considerable acceleration in the time a vulnerability is disclosed to when
it is exploited, with an accompanying proliferation of vulnerabilities
overall. Without a unified process for disclosing vulnerabilities, the
research industry runs the risk of actually fueling online criminal
activity. There’s a reason why X-Force doesn’t publish exploit code for the
vulnerabilities we have found, and perhaps it is time for others in our
field to reconsider this practice.”
Key findings from the X-Force report include:
-- Browser plug-ins are the newest target-of-choice. The threat landscape has evolved from the operating system to the Web browser to browser plug- ins. In the first six months of 2008, roughly 78 percent of web browser exploits targeted browser plug-ins. -- One-off manual attacks are growing into massive automated attacks. More than half of all vulnerability disclosures were related to web server applications. Structured Query Language (SQL) injection vulnerabilities, in particular, jumped from 25 percent in 2007 to 41 percent of all web server application vulnerabilities in the first half of 2008, and corresponded with a rash of automated attacks that compromised servers in an effort to compromise more endpoint systems. -- Spammers go back to basics. The complex spam of 2007 (image-based spam, file attachment spam, etc.) has almost disappeared and now spammers are using simple URL spam. This spam generally consists of a few simple words and a URL, making it difficult for spam filters to detect. Approximately 90 percent of spam is now URL spam. -- Russia continues to be origin of most spam. Russia is responsible for 11 percent of the world's spam followed by Turkey with 8 percent and then the United States with 7.1 percent. -- Online gamers are targets. As online games and virtual communities continue to gain popularity, they are becoming an enticing target for cyber- criminals. The X-Force report indicates that the top four password-stealing Trojans were all aimed at gamers. The goal is to steal gamers' virtual assets selling them for real money in online market places. -- Financial institutions remain key targets for phishers. All but two of the top 20 phishing targets were financial institutions. -- Secure virtualization grows in importance. Virtualization-related vulnerability disclosures have tripled since 2006 and are likely to increase as virtualized environments become more widespread.
IBM is the world’s leading provider of risk and security solutions. Clients
around the world team with IBM to help reduce the complexities of security
and strategically manage risk. IBM’s experience and range of risk and
security solutions are unsurpassed — from dedicated research, software,
hardware, services and global Business Partner value — helping clients
secure business operations and implement company-wide, integrated risk
management programs.
For more security trends and predictions from IBM, including graphical
representations of security statistics, please access the full report at:
www.ibm.com/services/us/iss/xforce/midyearreport
About IBM
For more information about IBM, visit www.ibm.com.
For Further Information: Michele Mancuso O’Malley IBM Media Relations (917) 472-3692 [email protected] |
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