Report finds wide majority of organizations have been victimized by cyber attacks, attributes half of attacks to malware hidden in encrypted traffic
The risk to financial services, healthcare and other industries stems from growing reliance on encryption technology, says network security study from A10 Networks and Ponemon Institute
A surprising outcome of the growing use of encryption technology is an increase in cyber attacks, according to a new report from A10 Networks. Conducted in partnership with Ponemon Institute, the network security study Hidden Threats in Encrypted Traffic: A Study of North America & EMEA surveyed 1,023 IT and IT security practitioners in North America and Europe, highlighting the overwhelming challenges these professionals face in preventing and detecting attacks on encrypted traffic in and out of their organizations’ networks.
A growing number of organizations are turning to encryption technology to keep their network data safe. For many security managers however, the cost of inspecting this rising tide of encrypted traffic is degraded network performance—an incorrect assumption depending on solution and technology choice that can carry costly consequences. At issue is the fact that SSL encryption not only hides data traffic from would-be hackers, but also from common security tools. The encryption technology that is crucial to protecting sensitive data in transit, such as web transactions, emails and mobile apps, can allow malware hiding inside that encrypted traffic to pass uninspected through an organization’s security framework.
Almost half of respondents (47 percent) cited a lack of enabling security tools as the primary reason for not inspecting decrypted web traffic—closely followed by insufficient resources and degradation of network performance (both 45 percent). Yet 80 percent of survey respondents say their organizations have been victims of a cyber attack or malicious insider during the past year. And nearly half say that the attackers used encryption to evade detection.
Dr. Chase Cunningham, director of cyber operations at A10 Networks said, “IT decision makers need to think more strategically. The bad guys are looking for ROI just like the good guys, and they don’t want to work too hard to get it. Instead of focusing on doing everything right 100 percent of the time, IT leaders can be more effective by doing a few things very strategically with the best technology available. It’s the cyber security equivalent of the zombie marathon — as long as you can avoid being the slowest in outrunning the zombies, you minimize risk.”
Dr. Larry Ponemon, chairman and founder, Ponemon Institute commented, “The Hidden Threats in Encrypted Traffic study sheds light on important facts about the malicious threats lurking in today’s corporate networks. Our goal is to help organizations better understand the risks to help them better address vulnerabilities in their networks.”