Learn How to Protect It Before It Is Too Late Your Critical Infrastructure Is
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Threats Are a Moving Target 11 Your Critical Infrastructure is No Longer Immune to Cyber Attacks Confidential 2 WHITEPAPER EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Researchers and organizations tasked with evaluating the evolution of cyber threats as they apply to consumers, businesses and critical infrastructure (CI), have been increasingly sounding the alarm that threats are growing in severity. Cyber- borne malice is on the rise in scale and sophistication, frequently bringing highly targeted, complex, and dangerous attack scenarios to light. The information revolution launched by the Internet has reached into every corner of our lives, and cyber threats nowadays adversely affect every type of organization. However, there is one sector where impact by an attack can be devastating. That sector is the industries defined as critical infrastructure; the backbone of the economy and the facilitator of life as we know it. Critical infrastructure is not only where impact from cyber-attacks can reach catastrophic dimensions, it is also a very vulnerable sector due to the historical way security was neglected for most systems still being used today. This paper will explore the particularities that result in significantly higher risk levels for CIs as compared with those encountered by other organizations. The conclusion section offers some best practices and suggests ways to use technological innovations to make CIs more resilient and better protected in the face of a brave new world of connectivity and threats from cyber space. Your Critical Infrastructure is No Longer Immune to Cyber Attacks Confidential 3 WHITEPAPER MORE THREATS THAN EVER, NO SLOWING DOWN The way things stand in the world of online threat nowadays, the information revolution and Internet connectivity have brought with them the threat of constant cyber-attacks that increase in number every year. Looking at some statistics, 2013 was the seventeenth record year for phishing attacks, with over 450,000 incidents. The number of phishing attacks have increased every single year since 1996 when this type of cyber threat started gaining momentum. On the malware front, new malicious code of all types exceeded the 20 million variant mark in the third quarter of 20131, and the tally grows every year. In fact, one AV vendor2 claimed that 20% of all malware ever invented saw light in 2013. Another stark example is mobile malware. 2014 marks the tenth anniversary of this threat, which saw a major boom throughout the past four years, evolving to include Trojans, spyware, adware, and most troubling – leveraged in the facilitation of targeted cyber espionage attacks. Researchers3 note having found an average of 272 new malware variants and five new families per month in 2013. In a report released late March 2014, it was further indicated that mobile malware and high risk apps reached the 2 million milestone, which is double the number reported a mere six months earlier. The picture is clear: the number of threats and attacks they are used in is growing exponentially and their rapid evolution is unstoppable. CONCURRENTLY INCREASING THREAT SOPHISTICATION Beyond their sheer number, cyber threats and the attacks experts who see the escalation first hand. Take for they are linked with have also been evolving in terms example the espionage operation dubbed Careto / of sophistication. This trend holds true for commercially The Mask; the campaign was named “One of the most available threats, sold in underground markets, where a new, advanced global cyber espionage campaigns to date5” notable maturity has been emerging, pointing to greater by Kaspersky Labs researchers. sophistication, stealthier malware, and better encryption keeping attackers anonymous and out of sight4. Another recent example is the Uroburos APT; it was named “one of the most advanced rootkits we have ever analyzed”, It is quite alarming that the same progression applies by G-Data’s research team. to targeted attacks (and advanced persistent threats). Carefully tailored to their victims’ systems, APTs are made To that effect, in a recent interview at the RSA Conference to circumvent existing security, infiltrate the infrastructure, 2014, Wade Baker, principal analyst at Verizon, noted: and slowly make their way toward the final mark. Those targeted attack schemes are one of the top concerns for security teams in all types of organizations. “…The bad guys are winning at a faster rate than The notable, increased intricacy of the targeted breed the good guys are winning and we’ve got to of cyber-attacks is frequently underscored by industry solve that; we’ve got to do something different. ” Phishing: Over 450,000 unique attacks in 2013 Malware: Tens of millions of variants per quarter in 2013. 20% of all malware ever was released in 2013. Mobile Malware: On average 272 new malware variants and five new families per month in 2013. Variant count doubles within six months from 1 million to 2 million. 1 Source: McAfee Labs 2 Source: Panda Security 3 Source: Symantec 4 Source: RAND Corp. 5 Source: Kaspersky Labss Your Critical Infrastructure is No Longer Immune to Cyber Attacks Confidential 4 WHITEPAPER EVERYONE IS AFFECTED – Another quote on the subject came from former head of the NSA Gen. Keith Alexander (see side bar). In a speech to the BUT CIs SEE HIGHEST IMPACT senate, Alexander described the imminence of a devastating cyber-attack that would affect critical infrastructure and the High profile cyber-attacks publicized over the past five years population as a whole, indicating it was only a matter of time have organizations of all sizes more invested than ever in before such a scenario becomes reality. protecting their sensitive data and that of their customers. Nevertheless, adversaries still seem to be getting through, disrupting, destroying, stealing intellectual property and valuable, sensitive data even from organizations with the WHERE ARE CIs VIS À VIS largest security budgets. THESE THREATS? The list of victims exposed in the aftermath of large scale operations is widely diverse. While some industries suffer Facing the increasing threats and the new means attackers more attacks than others, not one sector is exempt from the have nowadays to infiltrate organizations and inflict harm, threats posed by hackers and attackers, which can result in critical infrastructure IT security teams are under major customer data breaches, bank account heists, intelligence pressure to find ways to secure their mixed environments collection, and the theft of invaluable intellectual property. of machines, computers and connectivity. Well known cases of targeted attack campaigns, like The task is daunting; much more daunting in fact