HEALTH care and retail businesses are among the industries today where the cybersecurity problem is on the rise, according to Trend Micro Inc.
Its latest report, “Bad Ads and Zero-Days: Reemerging Threats Challenge Trust in Supply Chains and Best Practices,” showed that there is a combination of old and new threats that defined the online-security landscape following the first quarter of this year.
“Even though we are early in the year, it is clear that 2015 is shaping up to be noteworthy in terms of volume, ingenuity and sophistication of attacks,” said Myla Pilao, director of TrendLabs Marketing Communications at Trend Micro Inc.
A notable increase in cyber-attacks has occurred in the healthcare sector and retail point-of-sale systems.
Also, the operating system (OS) of American mobile-phone brand Apple—iOS—has remained to be the target of cybercriminals.
Since exploitations in these areas have been in their infancy for several years, Trend Micro researchers agree that the increase is mainly because of lack of preparedness that needs to be addressed.
The study said adware is the top mobile threat, as Trend Micro has recorded over 5 million cases of which in the Android operating system to date—3 million shy of the projected total of 8 million by the end of this year.
This was reflected in top malicious and high-risk apps blocked by Trend Micro related to this.
Zero-day exploits have been detected also to be targeting Adobe software-utilized malvertisements.
To become infected with this, victims are no longer required to visit or interact with malicious sites.
Another risk to watch out for is the “old-school” macro malware, whose resurgence has been indicative of cybercriminals taking advantage of user-security complacency via reliance on Microsoft Office defaults.
Since the decade-old Freak security flaw is brought on patch management challenges, it is more difficult for information-technology (IT) administrators to diminish risks as more vulnerabilities happen in open-source OS’s and apps.
Meanwhile, old threats like Rocket Kitten and those behind Operation Pawn Storm, are keen on new targets, with their latest attack tools, tactics and procedures.
Exploit kits, on the other hand, continuously add new exploits to their arsenals, enhancing their allure to expert and novice attackers.
Crypto-ransomware volume has soared, expanding their target base to enterprise users, apart from pursuing consumers.
“The rise in attacks against the health-care industry, combined with the rise in malvertisements, reflects that technology users are being assailed from all angles,” Pilao said.
Given that the report shows that complacency can lead to cybersecurity risks in this age where the margin for error has been significantly diminished, she reminded businesses and individuals to be proactive in protecting against threats.
“As a business, how would your IT-Security policies look like in a Zero Trust Environment? An aggressive and different security posture is critical to keep financial, personal and intellectual property safe,” she noted.
“While we need to constantly update our systems to protect against new attacks, the first quarter of 2015 clearly showed we need to also watch out for older threats, and how no industry or system should feel exempt,” she added.
Incepted 26 years ago, Trend Micro is a global leader in security software, offering solutions for consumers, businesses and governments that provide layered data security to protect information on mobile devices, endpoints, gateways, servers and the cloud.