Bot-driven web traffic and its application security impact

New research conducted by the Ponemon Institute, which focused on such highly targeted industries as retail, healthcare and financial services, exposes the proliferation of bot-driven web traffic and its impact on organizations’ application security. Bots conduct 52% of all Internet traffic flow. For some organizations, bots represent more than 75% of their total traffic. This is a significant finding considering one-in-three organizations cannot distinguish between ‘good’ bots and ‘bad’ ones. The report also found that … More Continue reading Bot-driven web traffic and its application security impact

Perception and reality: The role of AI and automated cyber defenses

Executives in the U.S. and Europe now place broad trust in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning systems, designed to protect organizations from more dynamic pernicious cyber threats, according to Radware. How do executives prioritize security? Each year, Radware publishes the findings and analysis of its information security industry survey. Complementing that research is Radware’s annual executive survey. In Q2 of this year, Radware conducted a global survey of C-suite executives. The goal: to understand … More Continue reading Perception and reality: The role of AI and automated cyber defenses

Why we should define our right to privacy now, before it’s too late

The debate has stirred up again. Talk of wiretapping and government spying has spurred another bout of privacy versus security. Internet of Things (IoT) devices have raised suspicion that strangers are listening to us or watching us using everything from TVs to toys. But all this talk of snooping, eavesdropping, and hacking is a red herring. It’s a distraction. The central question in all of this, one that few are actually talking about, is whether … More Continue reading Why we should define our right to privacy now, before it’s too late

How hackers will exploit the Internet of Things in 2017

The Internet of Things (IoT) is now a major force in the weaponization of DDoS. In 2016, IoT botnets have fueled a number of attacks, including the largest-ever DDoS attack, and that role will only grow in the coming years. The tools to carry out these attacks are freely available to the public, and the IoT is expected to be 20 billion devices strong by 2020, so expect more frequent and disruptive attacks from a … More Continue reading How hackers will exploit the Internet of Things in 2017

Keys to successful security vendor collaboration

The IT manager tasked with understanding today’s complex vendor landscape is in an unenviable position. The rapid proliferation of new types of cyber security threats and general IT dynamics has, in turn, driven a near equal proliferation of products and services aimed at helping manage the associated risks. Keeping up with the categories of products and services that now make up the security vendor landscape is challenging enough, not to mention keeping abreast of the … More Continue reading Keys to successful security vendor collaboration

How many businesses will pay a ransom if attacked?

Some 84 percent of information technology executives at firms that had not faced ransom attacks said they would never pay a ransom. But among firms that had been attacked, 43 percent paid. Radware polled more than 200 IT executives across the US and UK The study found that US companies were far more willing to admit that they would pay a ransom. Among US firms who had not been attacked, 23 percent indicated they were … More Continue reading How many businesses will pay a ransom if attacked?

How do you win the web security game when the rules keep changing?

Successfully protecting against web-based attacks is like trying to win a game that keeps changing its rules, only nobody tells you what the new rules are. With a rapidly evolving threat landscape and protected assets shifting constantly, conventional cloud security services based on static policies cannot win the web security game. Defending against today’s threat landscape is harder than ever. Zero-day attacks, exploiting newly discovered vulnerabilities for which patches and signatures are not yet available, … More Continue reading How do you win the web security game when the rules keep changing?

The economics of hacking: Change your thinking

If you saw the film Wall Street, you undoubtedly recall the iconic character Gordon Gekko famously stating, “what’s worth doing is worth doing for money.” This perspective is increasingly making its way into the philosophy and mindset of the modern cyber-security attacker (or “hacker,” if you prefer). There are numerous recent examples, perhaps none more attention-grabbing that the trend toward ransomware attacks against healthcare providers, including hospitals. A variety of conditions are coming together to … More Continue reading The economics of hacking: Change your thinking

The dangers of bad cyber threat intelligence programs

I love a surprise ending in a movie. Whether I’m watching drama, action, or sci-fi, there’s nothing better than a plot twist you can’t predict. At work, however, I feel the exact opposite. Movies are one thing, but surprise endings in the real world are rarely as welcome or harmless. Much has been written about cyber threat intelligence (CTI), including proposed standards on how to share the information (e.g., TAXI and STIX), what the information … More Continue reading The dangers of bad cyber threat intelligence programs