Ransomware is the latest example of the increasingly sophisticated and
damaging inventions of hackers. Individuals and organizations of all sizes
are finding that their data has been locked down or encrypted until a ransom
is paid. One program, CryptoLocker, infected more than 300,000 computers
before the FBI and international law enforcement agencies disabled it. A few
days later, Cryptowall showed up to take its place. Companies paid $1.3
billion last year in insurance to help offset the costs of combatting data
attacks like these.
Other examples include highly customized malware, advanced persistent threats
and large-scale Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. Security
professionals must remain ever vigilant to both known and new threats on the
rise. However, with proper visibility into the extended network and robust
intelligence, an attack can often b... (more)