Cybercrime today: Protect data from cybercriminals

Today, government organizations and businesses face an unprecedented array of threats to the information systems that constitute the backbone of global commercial and civil society. These new Trojans, malware, micro-bots, targeted spam, phishing and other risks are not only appearing in greater numbers, they are also constantly evolving in complexity at a rate that makes devising and implementing effective countermeasures increasingly difficult. The sources of these threats range from nation-states seeking commercial, political, and military advantage, to criminal syndicates that recruit highly talented individuals who conduct constant, and often successful efforts to break into the systems of organizations large and small. One method involves innovative business models created as a result of botnets – collections of compromised computers that become zombies and carry out the commands of cyber scammers. Furthermore, they are applying new software-as-a-service trends to their underground operations with the likes of “Botnets-as-a-Service” and “Malware-as-a-Service.”
Whether conducted by nation states or criminals, cybercrime trends are shifting toward a “for profit” motive and away from the nuisance and notoriety that characterized earlier digital vandalism and mischief. The Verizon 2010 Data Breach Report notes that 70 percent of data breaches resulted from external agents. At the same time, a lot of data loss (48 percent) and risk is self-inflicted via human error, carelessness and disgruntled employees. Any effective cybersecurity environment must protect against both malicious external and internal intent as well as normal everyday human foibles.
Dell is facing these challenges head-on by applying the defense-in-depth, layered approach as well as partnering with leading-edge security vendors such as INTEGRITY Global Security to develop highly secure, client-level solutions.
Note: This blog is part two of a five-part series examining cybersecurity trends and threats today. mobile phone mobile phone softwares cell phone softwares cell phone application