Mobile Identified As Weak Security Link

Hewlett Packard Enterprise today released its annual HPE Cyber Risk Report 2016, highlighting key security threats the business world has seen in the past year.

The biggest notion of the report is that the traditional network perimeter is disappearing – attack surfaces are growing and pressure is mounting on IT security officers to try and protect users, data and applications. This becomes additionally challenging as these security measures must not curb innovation – one of key growth elements.

The report suggests there have been three major security threats in 2015: applications, patches and malware monetisation. The report says ‘Apps are the new Battlefield’, with both web and mobile apps representing a significant risk for businesses. Security experts must defend not only the edge, but the interactions between users, apps and data. Patches are also crucial, the report says. There have been many patches recorded this year, fixing a number of burning issues, but they’re no good if the end user does not apply them. “Software vendors must be more transparent about the implications of their patches so that end-users aren’t afraid to deploy them,” the report says.

The third biggest threat is the monetisation of malware. Malware is no longer just a nuisance, it’s a source of income for the attackers. Particular emphasis is on ransomware, with HPE saying having a solid system backup is essential in order to protect the data.

“In 2015, we saw attackers infiltrate networks at an alarming rate, leading to some of the largest data breaches to date, but now is not the time to take the foot off the gas and put the enterprise on lockdown,” said Sue Barsamian, senior vice president and general manager, HPE Security Products, HPE.

“We must learn from these incidents, understand and monitor the risk environment, and build security into the fabric of the organization to better mitigate known and unknown threats, which will enable companies to fearlessly innovate and accelerate business growth.”

Author: Sead Fadilpašic
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