midyear security report
You’re Only as Secure as Your Weakest Link: Operationalizing Security
2 min read
I am reminded of the wisdom of the old saw that “no news is good news” as almost every day brings us headline after headline highlighting that yet another company has experienced a systems breach and valuable data has been compromised. Companies continue to increase the amount of money spent on cyber security in an […]
Social Engineering: Finding the Weak Links In-Person
2 min read
An enterprise can pay hundreds of thousands of dollars or more for the latest security software and imagine itself protected from targeted attacks that come in via the network. But if the threat is a real-live person who walks in the front door of an office or server farm, what good can the network edge […]
The increasing prevalence and complexity of malware
2 min read
In recent months, many organizations are becoming more interested in the information security landscape and how these threats can affect their business today. In the recent Cisco 2014 Midyear Security Report, the results showed that 90% of select customer networks were found issuing DNS queries to domain names known to be associated with malware distribution. […]
Cisco Security Launches New Security-Focused Community
1 min read
Have threat-centric security questions and don’t know where to turn? Wish you could engage with Cisco Security experts and your peers? Good news! … (drumroll please)…. introducing the Cisco Security Community! The Cisco Security Community is expressly designed to connect you with Cisco Security experts and your peers for all your security questions. Further, the […]
Cisco 2014 Midyear Security Report: Brush Your Teeth, Change Your Passwords, Update Your Software
2 min read
Listening to the radio on the way to work recently, I heard that hackers had stolen some 1.2 billion usernames and passwords, affecting as many as 420,000 websites. When asked what listeners could do to protect themselves, the security expert speaking recommended changing passwords. He did not mention which ones. Indeed, the names of the […]
Cisco 2014 Midyear Security Report: Security Services and Risk Management
2 min read
More organizations are starting to view cybersecurity as a strategic risk. They have to—it’s becoming unavoidable. Technology and the business are so intertwined. Regulators are issuing more compliance measures that include information security directives. And all the while, adversaries are relentless in their campaigns to compromise defenses to steal information, money, or otherwise create disruption.
Cisco 2014 Midyear Security Report: Focusing on Common Vulnerabilities is Smart Security Strategy
2 min read
Enterprise security professionals have their hands full these days—monitoring networks for security breaches, managing the implications of “bring your own device” policies, and patching systems to combat “weak links,” or vulnerabilities that could allow online criminals to grant entry. Regarding this last task, security practitioners may be able to take an approach to addressing vulnerabilities […]
Cisco 2014 Midyear Security Report: Exploit Kit Creators Vying for ‘Market Leader’ Role
1 min read
Even in the world of cybercrime, when a top “vendor” drops out of the market, competitors will scurry to fill the void with their own products. As reported in the Cisco 2014 Midyear Security Report, when Paunch—the alleged creator and distributor of the Blackhole exploit kit—was arrested in Russia in late 2013, other malware creators […]
Cisco 2014 Midyear Security Report: Threats – Inside and Out
2 min read
Through our ongoing “Inside Out” project at Cisco, our threat researchers have the opportunity to closely examine select networks—with our customers’ permission—to identify evidence of malicious traffic. We use Domain Name System (DNS) lookups emanating from enterprise networks to create a snapshot of possible data compromises and vulnerabilities. This research yielded a significant finding that […]