Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Cybersecurity
    • Cybersecurity

    Report: Number of Security Flaws Stabilizes, but Ease of Exploit Worsens

    By
    Dennis Fisher
    -
    March 15, 2004
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      While the number of vulnerabilities found in software essentially has stabilized, the flaws are increasingly easy to exploit—and more often than not, quite severe—according to a new report released on Monday.

      Furthermore, as bad as the vulnerability problem is, the virus plague currently tormenting Internet users may well be worse. In the second half of 2003, there were 250 percent more new Windows viruses discovered than in the same period in 2002, the report shows. A total of 1,702 new Win32 viruses were found in the last six months of the year. Worms, however, beat out their virus cousins as the most common source of attack activity, according to the Internet Security Threat Report, released by Symantec Corp.

      /zimages/4/28571.gifClick here to read about the danger of integer overflows.

      Together, worms and blended threats—i.e., viruses that include other capabilities, such as backdoor or keylogger installation—accounted for 43 percent of all attack traffic detected by Symantecs DeepSight sensors, which are intrusion detection systems in place at Symantec customer sites that collect data on intrusions and attacks and then send the data back to Symantec.

      “Thats a continuation of what weve seen in past years, and its likely to continue that way for some time,” said Vincent Weafer, senior director of Security Response at Symantec, based in Cupertino, Calif. “No surprise there.”

      Another entry in the “no-surprise” category is the state of software security. Of the more than 2,600 new vulnerabilities discovered in 2003, 70 percent were easy to exploit, meaning that they either didnt require exploit code or that code was readily available. Symantec analysts found that, overall, the volume of exploit code available on the Internet is increasing as well.

      /zimages/4/28571.gifClick here to read about the ho-hum banality of worms.

      Among the blended threats from last year, Bugbear was the most prevalent, according to Symantec. The Blaster worm, which hammered the Internet last August and still continues to cause trouble in some quarters, came in second, with SoBig.F, Redlof and Swen rounding out the top five. Many of these threats, including Blaster and SoBig.F, install a backdoor as part of their infection process. Symantecs analysts found that attackers who write other threats are including functionality in their worms and viruses that scan for and then exploit these backdoors. Often, such compromised machines are used later in distributed denial-of-service attacks.

      This trend has continued into 2004, with worms such as MyDoom installing backdoors and others, including Doomjuice, seeking out PCs infected by MyDoom and sneaking in through the open backdoor.

      Symantec produces its Internet Security Threat Report every six months using data collected by its DeepSight Threat Management System sensors deployed in enterprises and other large organizations.

      Dennis Fisher

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×