I just came back from a tour in Europe, meeting with both customers and journalists. It was a very interesting trip, dedicated to the launch of the Radware Attack Mitigation System.
What really stood out to me were all the interesting discussions around the changes in the threat landscape. This year has been a very intense year as far as successful attack campaigns go. Some high-profile ones included The Playstation Network data breach, RSA breach and the Epsilon data breach, just to name a few. But in all these discussions, it was clear that what customers really want is a way to effectively secure their companies against similar threats and to have someone to turn to when an attack occurs.
Attack Characteristics
The truth is, as more attacks occurred, we learned more and more about the tools and strategies hackers used on regular basis. To highlight this knowledge, I mentioned the recent security research published by the Radware Emergency Response Team (ERT) when talking to customers. The ERT group built conclusions based on the consolidated attack data that they researched and were exposed to. The ERT’s findings included:
- More than 70% of the attacks this year were multi-vulnerability attacks targeting different layers of the data center from the network infrastructure to servers and applications, making them difficult to mitigate
- Motivation behind the attacks were either hacktivism for a political cause or attacks that were done for financial gain
- “Slow” attacks using a relatively low number of connections remain a serious threat
But it’s hard to know this without the aide of qualified professionals who are willing to help at a moment’s notice.
Finding a Friend
And in talking with customers, besides having effective security, it was also clear that they wanted to know they would have help if an attack does occur. That way, they’re not alone when they need someone the most. This means they’re not just asking which technology to deploy, but also “whom will I turn to for help, if an attack does occur?”
It was a very powerful realization for the customers I spoke with when they realized they would have that assistance. The ERT team, which is “on call” 24/7 to support any of our customers who are experiencing an attack, has a tremendous value, and can be that “friend” in time of need.
This is not only because this is a group of security experts that has an extensive “combat” experience fighting today’s attacks. Or not only because they can research and give customers an advanced notice that they are about to be attacked. But also because it assures they’re not alone in their time of need.
That’s a comforting feeling when going to battle in cyber-space.