Security Of Smart Homes And Small Biz Need Attention

Cybercriminals are searching for new opportunities to commandeer control devices in homes and businesses. Sometimes these types of devices are not as prioritized as others or are outside the scope of traditional IT management. In the latest quarterly Global Threat Landscape Report, Fortinet revealed the security of smart residential and small business systems deserves elevated attention especially since access could have serious safety ramifications. This is especially relevant for remote work environments where secure access is important.

Fortinet announced the findings of its latest quarterly Global Threat Landscape Report. It is a quarterly view that represents the collective intelligence of FortiGuard Labs, drawn from Fortinet’s vast array of global sensors during Q2 2019. Research data covers global and regional perspectives. Also included in the report is the Fortinet Threat Landscape Index (TLI), comprised of individual indices for three central and complementary aspects of that landscape which are exploits, malware, and botnets, showing prevalence and volume in a given quarter.

It reveals that cybercriminals look for new attack opportunities throughout the digital attack surface and are leveraging evasion as well as anti-analysis techniques as they become more sophisticated in their attempts.  The Threat Landscape Index crossed a milestone this quarter. It is up nearly 4% from its original opening position year-over-year. The high point during that year-long timeframe is the peak and closing point of Q2 CY2019. The upsurge was driven by increased malware and exploit activity.

Many modern malware tools already incorporate features for evading antivirus or other threat detection measures, but cyber adversaries are becoming more sophisticated in their obfuscation and anti-analysis practices to avoid detection. The growing use of anti-analysis and broader evasion tactics is a reminder of the need for multi – layered defenses and behavior-based threat detection.

The attacks on multiple cities, local governments, and education systems serve as a reminder that ransomware is not going away, but instead continues to pose a serious threat for many organizations going forward. Ransomware attacks continue to move away from mass-volume,opportunistic attacks to more targeted attacks on organizations, which are perceived as having either the ability or the incentive to pay ransoms. In some instances, cybercriminals have conducted considerable reconnaissance before deploying their ransomware on carefully selected systems to maximize opportunity.

Regardless of the vector, ransomware continues to pose a serious threat for organizations going forward, serving as a reminder of the importance of prioritizing patching and infosecurity awareness education. In addition, Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) vulnerabilities, such as

BlueKeep are a warning that remote access services can be opportunities for cybercriminals and that they can also be used as an attack vector to spread ransomware.

Between the home printer and critical infrastructure is a growing line of control systems for residential and small business use. These smart systems garner comparably less attention from attackers than their industrial counterparts, but that may be changing based on increased activity observed targeting these control devices such as environmental controls, security cameras, and safety systems. A signature related to building management solutions was found to be triggered in 1% of organizations, which may not seem like much, but it is higher than typically seen for ICS or SCADA products.

Threat intelligence that is dynamic, proactive, and available in real-time can help identify trends showing the evolution of attack methods targeting the digital attack surface and to pinpoint cyber hygiene priorities. The value and ability to take action on threat intelligence is severely diminished if it cannot be actionable in real-time across each security device. Only a security fabric that is broad, integrated, and automated can provide protection for the entire networked environment, from IoT to the edge, network core and to multi-clouds at speed and scale.