Interviews

Firewalls and anti-malware tools are not enough

by Mark Rowe

A new survey from a security software firm has found that 78 percent of IT security professionals are confident that firewalls and anti-malware tools are robust enough to combat today’s advanced persistent threats. According to Lieberman Software Corporation these findings highlight the fact that while cybercrime is on the rise, many are still dangerously relying on outdated IT perimeter security to defend against the latest threats.

The survey, made at Black Hat USA in August 2014, also found that 22 percent of those surveyed do not think that tools like firewalls and antivirus are able to defend against APTs. However, given the surge in organisations suffering advanced targeted cyber attacks, this number should have been much higher.

Philip Lieberman, CEO of Lieberman Software, said: “Our survey reveals that while the majority of organizations are prepared for amateur hackers and low-level criminals, they are completely ill-equipped to deal with today’s advanced attacks. Traditional perimeter security products are effective at spotting and stopping known threats, but they can’t keep up with today’s rapidly increasing volume of advanced targeted attacks. The most effective methods for securing yourself from these types of attacks are the use of air-gap networks (machines not connected to the internet) that disconnect systems with sensitive data. Assume that others have already penetrated your network and institute multi-factor authentication and adaptive privilege management to assure that a compromised system is not a jumping off point for an organization wide attack.

“The latest targeted cyber-attacks on government organizations and high-profile companies show the need for better awareness and responsiveness in cyber security. Organizations should no longer be solely dependent on perimeter security products, like firewalls and intrusion detection, to protect their systems. Today they need IT staff who are better trained to identify potential attacks, and defense-in-depth security solutions that can restrict lateral movement in the network when attacks do manage to penetrate the perimeter,” added Lieberman.

Visit: http://go.liebsoft.com/state-sponsored-attack-survey-2014.

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