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6/25/2015
04:30 PM
Kelly Jackson Higgins
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5 Things You Probably Missed In The Verizon DBIR

A look at a few of the lesser-noticed but meaty nuggets in the annual Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR).
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Image: Verizon Mobile Devices Not An Attack Vector Despite the influx of mobile malware and security concerns about BYOD in the corporate world, attackers just aren't using mobile devices at this point, Verizon's data shows. Verizon Wireless data shows around 100 smartphones infected per week with malware out of tens of millions of devices, for an infection rate of 0.68%. 'We just weren't seeing tablets or mobile phones as assets in remote attack scenarios,' Spitler says. 'We're still seeing workstations and laptops ... as the target of crimeware or malware.' But that doesn't mean it won't ever happen, he says. 'It is something that's going to increase,' he says. 'We're not saying you should ignore this. We're saying we have a good opportunity to actually get ahead of things' with the mobile threat, he says. Mobile security firm Zimperium, meanwhile, has disputed Verizon's findings, arguing that it sees targeted attacks against mobile devices occurring regularly, mainly via WiFi networks. Zuk Avraham, chairman and CTO of Zimperium, says cellular-borne attacks against mobile devices represent only about 18% of attacks. Most of the attack attempts Zimperium sees appear to be targeted and espionage-related and targeted, Avraham says.

Image: Verizon

Mobile Devices Not An Attack Vector

Despite the influx of mobile malware and security concerns about BYOD in the corporate world, attackers just aren't using mobile devices at this point, Verizon's data shows.

Verizon Wireless data shows around 100 smartphones infected per week with malware out of tens of millions of devices, for an infection rate of 0.68%.

"We just weren't seeing tablets or mobile phones as assets in remote attack scenarios," Spitler says. "We're still seeing workstations and laptops … as the target of crimeware or malware."

But that doesn't mean it won't ever happen, he says. "It is something that's going to increase," he says.

"We're not saying you should ignore this. We're saying we have a good opportunity to actually get ahead of things" with the mobile threat, he says.

Mobile security firm Zimperium, meanwhile, has disputed Verizon's findings, arguing that it sees targeted attacks against mobile devices occurring regularly, mainly via WiFi networks. Zuk Avraham, chairman and CTO of Zimperium, says cellular-borne attacks against mobile devices represent only about 18% of attacks.

Most of the attack attempts Zimperium sees appear to be targeted and espionage-related and targeted, Avraham says.

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bhalladeva
bhalladeva,
 User Rank: Apprentice
7/22/2015 | 8:14:43 AM
Re: 5 things you missed
ata and rare insight on real-world incidents and breach cases, but with the addition of loads of data contributed by 70 other organizations from around the world.

Unless you've been com
Joe Stanganelli
Joe Stanganelli,
 User Rank: Ninja
6/30/2015 | 11:12:03 PM
Re: Mobile Malware not a significant threat
I think you forgot the word "yet."  ;)

Sure, Windows is where the action is...but that's more a function of its proliferation/market dominance and less a function of how many vulnerabilities it has.  (In 2014, for instance, several times more vulnerabilities -- and of greater severity on the whole -- were discovered in Linux, OSX, and iOS than in any Windows OS.)

Same thing if we look at mobile only, too.  iOS has way more vulnerabilities than Android, but Android is attacked way more often than iOS because there are so many more Android phones out there than iOS phones (and because it's far easier to attack people via malicious apps on Android than it is on iOS because of Apple's tight iTunes Store controls).

Anyway, it's worthwhile to keep an eye on everything across the board.  There's little telling how the results will differ five or ten years from now.
geeksonrepair
geeksonrepair,
 User Rank: Apprentice
6/29/2015 | 4:35:04 AM
5 things you missed
I like your way of presentation.Thanks dear for such an informatic blog.
Kelly Jackson Higgins
Kelly Jackson Higgins,
 User Rank: Strategist
6/26/2015 | 2:43:37 PM
Re: Mobile Malware not a significant threat
Yep, attackers always start with the easy entry point. But as Marc Spitler said, it's only a matter of time before mobile devices are a big part of the attack chain. 
LanceCottrell
LanceCottrell,
 User Rank: Author
6/26/2015 | 1:50:50 PM
Mobile Malware not a significant threat
It is nice to see this confirmation that, despite all the products and hot air from security vendors, mobile devices are not where the security breaches are happening. Windows is still by far the low hanging fruit for attackers.
Sara Peters
Sara Peters,
 User Rank: Author
6/26/2015 | 1:17:08 PM
relying on their customers' security
Great stuff Kelly. I love the way they put this:  "What we have here are companies ... relying on the security of their customer base. Over one half of Web app attacks came from the use of stolen credentials." So basically organizations are outsourcing security to their customers, and I suppose to the other organizations that the customers do business with.
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