WatchGuard, a provider of security offerings, has unveiled its top 10 security predictions for 2011 that may keep organisations busy for the whole year.
The secuity firm has stated advanced persistent threats (APTs) as becoming a security acronym of the year. They are responsible for most advanced attack, infection, and malware propagation techniques known.
APTs are designed to stay hidden within a victim network or host for a long period of time – typically by using strong rootkit technology, cleaning logs, and slow, quiet command and control channels.
WatchGuard in its second predication stated that cyberwar skirmishes will occur almost daily, and that the government infrastructure and financials will need to be hardened to handle the next onslaught of web attacks.
The third prediction states that VoIP attacks will increase, and in the future brute-force and directory traversal class attacks against VoIP servers will be as common as they previously have been against email servers.
Networks have become more mobile, and businesses need protection to fight agains the threats to mobile resources, according to the fourth prediction.
According to WatchGuard’s fifth prediction, cars are the next target to the hackers, because they have become more connected than computers. Attackers are expected to get into the car hacking game resulting in physical harm via a car attack/hack.
The security firm in its sixth prediction stated that social networking sites like Facebook and Other Social Media will become lead threat vectors. The links on Facebook will become the most common threat vector, similar to how attachments in email were years ago.
Seventh prediction by WatchGuard is that manufacturer-delivered malware trend is to get even worse. WatchGuard recommends that businesses scan all of their new electronic purchases before connecting to any corporate networks.
Watchgaurd expects organisation to employ even better data loss prevention mechanisms and also believes that governments around the world will become more involved in protecting intellectual property this year.
The security firm in its ninth predication stated that the increasing threats surface will make the administrators realise the need for detection and analysis of the threat and to prevent it from entering.
The tenth prediction highlights about Malware as a Service (MaaS), where one can buy web attack kits, and ready to malware from underground websites and forums, can increase by creating app store for malware in 2011.
