Cybercriminals have never had it so good. Most businesses are sitting on a copious supply of sensitive data accessible across an attack surface that is steadily growing due to things like poorly managed vendor relationships and vulnerable applications and endpoint technologies. To put the success that attackers are having in perspective, the cybercrime racket is now more profitable than the drug trade.
That is not to say organizations aren't having at least some success in defending against their adversaries. It is just that the cybercrime industry has become so professionalized and relied upon by growing legions of saboteurs that they simply aren't going to pack up their bags anytime they encounter resistance. Instead, they refine their tactics so that they can continue to achieve an optimal return-on-investment for their sinister efforts. Cybercriminals are often quicker to the draw than their resource-challenged victims are to shield themselves - and the result is enormous cost to the corporate world.
At 90 pages, the report is as comprehensive as it is captivating. But don't consider it something you need to read in one sitting. Conveniently divided into three sections (and many more subsections), you can pick and choose what matters most to you and your organization - and then keep it close by for further reference throughout the year.
- Which types of industries, environments and sensitive data are attackers most often targeting?
- What vulnerability and exploit trends have emerged?
- What makes the Angler exploit kit so dangerous?
- What are the most common malware types and how can you better detect them?
- What are the most prevalent signs of unusual network behavior and suspicious traffic?
- What are the latest trends in network, database and applications security?
Please also join us for a webinar next month that will break down the key findings of the report and offer practical suggestions for applying the report's data and insight within your organization. We are hosting two webinars: one for North and South America on May 10 and another for EMEA/APAC on May 11.
Finally, we hope you enjoy the report and please share it with your peers. Remember, we're all in this together!
Dan Kaplan is manager of online content at Trustwave and a former IT security reporter and editor.
