Cloud and mobile deployments are the weakest links

April 2019 Information Security

Check Point Software has published the third instalment of its 2019 Security Report. It highlights how threat actors are increasingly targeting the weakest, least protected points in an organisation’s IT infrastructure – their public cloud and mobile deployments. 

The third instalment of the 2019 Security Report reveals the key cyberattack trends used by criminals to target enterprise cloud and mobile estates during 2018. It also reveals enterprise IT and security teams’ key security concerns about these deployments. Highlights of the third instalment include:

• 18% of organisations globally had a cloud security incident in the past year: the most common incident types were data leaks / breaches, account hijacks, and malware infections.

• The top four public cloud security threats: IT professionals rated misconfiguration of cloud platforms, leading to data loss or breaches as the biggest threat, cited by 62%; followed by unauthorised access to cloud resources (55%); insecure interfaces and APIs (50%); hijacking of accounts or data traffic (47%).

• 30% of IT professionals still consider security is the responsibility of the cloud service provider: this worrying finding negates recommendations that cloud security should follow the mutual responsibility model, in which security is shared by both the cloud provider and the customer.

• 59% of IT professionals do not use mobile threat defences: a majority of organisations have not deployed mobile security solutions capable of detecting leading threats including mobile malware, fake or malicious apps, man-in-the-middle attacks and system vulnerabilities.

• Only 9% of IT professionals consider threats on mobile a significant security risk: yet malware can propagate from unprotected mobile devices to organisations’ cloud- or on-premise networks, exploiting this weak link in enterprise security defences.

“The third instalment of our 2019 Security Report shows just how vulnerable organisations are to attacks targeting their cloud and mobile estates, because there is a lack of awareness of the threats they face and how to mitigate them. Nearly 20% of organisations have experienced a cloud incident in the past year, it’s clear that

criminals are looking to exploit these security gaps,” said Zohar Alon, head of cloud product line, Check Point Software Technologies. “By reviewing and highlighting these developments in the report, organisations can get a better understanding of the threats they face, and how they prevent them impacting on their business.”

For full report go to: https://research.checkpoint.com/vol-3-2019-security-report/





Share this article:
Share via emailShare via LinkedInPrint this page



Further reading:

What are MFA fatigue attacks, and how can they be prevented?
Information Security
Multifactor authentication is a security measure that requires users to provide a second form of verification before they can log into a corporate network. It has long been considered essential for keeping fraudsters out. However, cybercriminals have been discovering clever ways to bypass it.

Read more...
SA's cybersecurity risks to watch
Information Security
The persistent myth is that cybercrime only targets the biggest companies and economies, but cybercriminals are not bound by geography, and rapidly digitising economies lure them in large numbers.

Read more...
Cyber insurance a key component in cyber defence strategies
Information Security
[Sponsored] Cyber insurance has become a key part of South African organisations’ risk reduction strategies, driven by the need for additional financial protection and contingency plans in the event of a cyber incident.

Read more...
Deception technology crucial to unmasking data theft
Information Security Security Services & Risk Management
The ‘silent theft’ of data is an increasingly prevalent cyber threat to businesses, driving the ongoing leakage of personal information in the public domain through undetected attacks that cannot even be policed by data privacy legislation.

Read more...
Data security and privacy in global mobility
Security Services & Risk Management Information Security
Data security and privacy in today’s interconnected world is of paramount importance. In the realm of global mobility, where individuals and organisations traverse borders for various reasons, safeguarding sensitive information becomes an even more critical imperative.

Read more...
Sophos celebrates partners and cybersecurity innovation at annual conference
News & Events Information Security
[Sponsored] Sun City hosted Sophos' annual partner event this year, which took place from 12 to 14 March. Sophos’ South African cybersecurity distributors and resellers gathered for an engaging two-day conference.

Read more...
The CIPC hack has potentially serious consequences
Editor's Choice Information Security
A cyber breach at the South African Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) has put millions of companies at risk. The organisation holds a vast database of registration details, including sensitive data like ID numbers, addresses, and contact information.

Read more...
Navigating South Africa's cybersecurity regulations
Sophos Information Security Infrastructure
[Sponsored] Data privacy and compliance are not just buzzwords; they are essential components of a robust cybersecurity strategy that cannot be ignored. Understanding and adhering to local data protection laws and regulations becomes paramount.

Read more...
AI augmentation in security software and the resistance to IT
Security Services & Risk Management Information Security
The integration of AI technology into security software has been met with resistance. In this, the first in a series of two articles, Paul Meyer explores the challenges and obstacles that must be overcome to empower AI-enabled, human-centric decision-making.

Read more...
Milestone Systems joins CVE programme
Milestone Systems News & Events Information Security
Milestone Systems has partnered with the Common Vulnerability and Exposures (CVE) Programme as a CVE Numbering Authority (CNA), to assist the programme to find, describe, and catalogue known cybersecurity issues.

Read more...