Wednesday, 1 August 2007

Zero-Day Attacks Top Concern For IT Execs

According to a new survey, Zero Day attacks was the biggest topmost security concern for IT executives globally.

According to the survey by security firm PatchLink, 53 per cent of respondents put zero day vulnerabilities as the No. 1 security concern, followed by hackers, which was cited by 35 per cent respondents, and malware and spyware with 34 per cent. PatchLink surveyed 250 of its customers worldwide in June 2007, including CIOs, CSOs, IT directors and managers.

“The prospect of zero-day attacks is extremely troubling for organizations,” said Charles Kolodgy, research director for security products at IDC in Framingham, Mass. “Today’s financially motivated attackers are creating customized, sophisticated malware designed to exploit unpublished application vulnerabilities in specific applications before they can be fixed.”

Kolodgy said many IT departments are spread thin and lack the resources to proactively defend against zero-day threats, and attackers are using this to their advantage. “Hackers are also counting on the human element part of the security equation to help them accomplish their attacks,” Kolodgy added.

In its survey PatchLink also asked IT executives to rank the application that they are most concerned about protecting, and Internet Explorer landed on top cited by 83 per cent of the respondents.