• LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Google+
.
|
TechRecs: Cool Tools & Hot Topics
|
More Than 99% of Attacks in the Past Year Relied on Human Error to Gain Access
Posted on September 10, 2019 by

For all of the attention paid to software vulnerabilities—there are dozens, if not hundreds, published daily, only a handful of which are publicized in the news—the factor in question for security is “the human factor.”  The results make sense—while computers can automate tasks, they are not themselves autonomous.

“Instead of attacking computer systems and infrastructure, threat actors focused on people, their roles within an organization, the data to which they had access, and their likelihood to ‘click here’,” the report stated. “Whether attacking at a massive scale in large, indiscriminate campaigns, going after specific industries or geographies with more targeted campaigns, or seeking out a single person within an organization, attackers and their sponsors consistently found human beings to be the most effective vectors to infiltrate organizations and facilitate fraud and theft.”

Phishing is quite often the form these attacks take—generic email credential harvesting represented nearly a quarter of all phishing attacks, with Office 365 and financial institution phishing attacks rounding out the top three.

Likewise, impostor attacks—which Proofpoint uses as a catch-all term for domain spoofing, look-alike domains, and other methods for “identity deception,” were at an all-time high in 2018 for engineering, automotive, and education fields, ” likely reflecting easily exploited supply chain complexities in the first two and high-value targets and user vulnerabilities, especially among student populations, in the latter,” according to the report.

Despite conventional expectations, the highest-profile people within an organization are not necessarily the highest-profile targets for hackers. Proofpoint proposes the concept of “Very Attacked People” (VAPs) that are “either easily discovered identities or targets of opportunity like shared public accounts.” The report notes that 36% of identified VAPs could be found “via corporate websites, social media, publications, and more,” while only 7% of C-level executives who are also VAPs could be found online.

Corporate websites are the most frequent source of VAPs, at just over 40%, with “publicly available files” a close second. Social media services accounted for less than 5% of sources.

Likewise, the size of an organization is not a strong indicator of how likely it will be attacked. “While larger organizations may be attractive for their deep pockets, smaller companies may be more vulnerable due to the relative lack of controls and awareness, both of which create lucrative potential outcomes for threat actors.”

For more information on solutions for running your businesses’ technology more efficiently, visit our website or contact Megan Meisner at mmeisner@launchpadonline.com or 813 448-7100 x210.

This was originally posted by James Sanders  for TechRepublic. 

Posted in TechRecs: Cool Tools & Hot Topics, Small Business IT Management, IT Solutions - Stay Secure
Draw Where You Want to Go
How to Search for Text Inside Multiple PDF Files at Once

Related Posts

  • How to Make a Booklet in Word

    Microsoft Word is essential for anyone who does any sort of work with documents. Word’s
    read more
  • How to Split Data Into Multiple Columns in Excel

    If you start an Excel workbook by grouping data into the same cell and later
    read more
  • How to Insert a Signature in Google Docs

    Adding your signature to a document may be a necessary step to create the final
    read more
  • How to See What Data Google Has on You (and Delete It)

    There are a few companies that people seem to have trust issues with. Google is
    read more
Logging In...

Profile cancel

Sign in with Twitter Sign in with Facebook
or

Not published

TO WEBSITE >>
launchpadonline.com

CATEGORIES

  • Launch Pad News
  • TechRecs: Cool Tools & Hot Topics
  • Small Business IT Management
  • Small Business Web Strategies
  • IT Solutions – Cloud | Mobile
  • IT Solutions – Stay Secure
  • ITs Easy Being Green
  • RevITup TechCare Client Forum
  • GreenBack Nonprofit Wish List
  • Launch Pad Franchise Forum
  • Launch Pad Partner News

Cloud Computing in Plain English

Copyright © 2021 | Privacy Policy
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Google+

Archives

  • February 2021 (3)
  • January 2021 (2)
  • December 2020 (2)
  • November 2020 (2)
  • October 2020 (4)
  • September 2020 (2)
  • August 2020 (3)
  • July 2020 (2)
  • June 2020 (3)
  • May 2020 (2)
  • April 2020 (3)
  • March 2020 (3)
  • February 2020 (3)
  • January 2020 (4)
  • December 2019 (3)
  • November 2019 (2)
  • October 2019 (4)
  • September 2019 (3)
  • August 2019 (4)
  • July 2019 (2)
  • June 2019 (3)
  • May 2019 (3)
  • April 2019 (3)
  • March 2019 (3)
  • February 2019 (3)
  • January 2019 (4)
  • December 2018 (3)
  • November 2018 (4)
  • October 2018 (3)
  • September 2018 (2)
  • August 2018 (3)
  • July 2018 (3)
  • June 2018 (3)
  • May 2018 (2)
  • April 2018 (3)
  • March 2018 (3)
  • February 2018 (3)
  • January 2018 (3)
  • December 2017 (3)
  • November 2017 (4)
  • October 2017 (3)
  • September 2017 (4)
  • August 2017 (4)
  • July 2017 (4)
  • June 2017 (3)
  • May 2017 (5)
  • April 2017 (4)
  • March 2017 (4)
  • February 2017 (5)
  • January 2017 (4)
  • December 2016 (3)
  • November 2016 (4)
  • October 2016 (4)
  • September 2016 (4)
  • August 2016 (5)
  • July 2016 (4)
  • June 2016 (5)
  • May 2016 (3)
  • April 2016 (4)
  • March 2016 (4)
  • February 2016 (3)
  • January 2016 (3)
  • December 2015 (4)
  • November 2015 (4)
  • October 2015 (3)
  • September 2015 (3)
  • August 2015 (3)
  • July 2015 (3)
  • June 2015 (5)
  • May 2015 (4)
  • April 2015 (6)
  • March 2015 (4)
  • February 2015 (2)
  • January 2015 (5)
  • December 2014 (4)
  • November 2014 (3)
  • October 2014 (8)
  • September 2014 (5)
  • August 2014 (2)
  • July 2014 (3)
  • June 2014 (6)
  • May 2014 (3)
  • April 2014 (6)
  • March 2014 (5)
  • February 2014 (3)
  • January 2014 (5)
  • December 2013 (4)
  • November 2013 (4)
  • October 2013 (6)
  • September 2013 (3)
  • August 2013 (5)
  • July 2013 (6)
  • June 2013 (4)
  • May 2013 (3)
  • April 2013 (4)
  • March 2013 (4)
  • February 2013 (3)
  • January 2013 (5)
  • December 2012 (4)
  • November 2012 (5)
  • October 2012 (5)
  • September 2012 (6)
  • August 2012 (6)
  • July 2012 (6)
  • June 2012 (3)
  • May 2012 (7)
  • April 2012 (6)
  • March 2012 (10)
  • February 2012 (6)
  • January 2012 (5)
  • December 2011 (7)
  • November 2011 (9)
  • October 2011 (4)
  • September 2011 (4)
  • August 2011 (11)
  • July 2011 (14)
  • June 2011 (4)
  • May 2011 (11)
  • April 2011 (8)
  • March 2011 (11)
  • February 2011 (11)
  • January 2011 (21)
  • December 2010 (10)
  • November 2010 (10)
  • October 2010 (8)
  • September 2010 (10)
  • August 2010 (12)
  • July 2010 (8)
  • June 2010 (9)
  • May 2010 (8)
  • April 2010 (7)
  • March 2010 (10)
  • February 2010 (8)
  • January 2010 (6)
  • December 2009 (7)
  • November 2009 (13)
  • October 2009 (11)
  • September 2009 (16)
  • August 2009 (13)
  • July 2009 (16)
  • June 2009 (18)
  • May 2009 (16)