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Mobile technology changes making cyber security more difficult: Kroll

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Mobile technology changes making cyber security more difficult: Kroll

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Mobile technology security threats will be at an all-time high, and social media will increase in popularity as conduit for social engineering attacks, says Kroll Inc. in its annual security forecast released Wednesday.

Karen Schuler, Nashville, Tenn.-based practice leader of Kroll's Cyber Security and Information Assurance Division, said in a statement, “The events of 2011 suggest that the cyber security landscape will find public and private organizations are still on unsteady footing. Traditional pain points for organizations including mobile technologies, incident response and regulatory requirements will intensify as new and developing challenges surface in 2012.”

Discussing mobile technology security threats, Kroll said mobile technologies “are changing so rapidly that in some organizations the demand and pressure to deploy new technologies (e.g. tablet computers) will outstrip the organization's existing capabilities to secure them. This unfortunate dynamic is no secret to thieves who are ready and waiting with highly targeted malware and attacks employing mobile applications.”

Kroll also states that while social media adoption is skyrocketing, “so is the threat of attack. In 2012, organizations can expect to see an increase in social media profiles used as a channel for social engineering tactics.” These clever tactics will be used “to coerce end-users into disclosing sensitive information, downloading malware, or both.”

Other issues outlined by Kroll include:

• Small businesses will “enter the crosshairs” of cyber attacks. A recent survey indicated that most small and midsize businesses are unprepared for the risk and exposures associated with the corporate use of social media.

• Breach incidents will flourish as cloud services gain in popularity.

• Business and government cooperation will be “mission critical” for economic and infrastructure health.

• A major focus will be privacy concerns with respect to geolocation technology.

• Logging data, which provides vital information, will gain more respect for its role in incident preparedness and response.

• Incident response teams “will get a permanent seat at the table” with respect to standard business operations.

• One negative development is that as regulatory compliance, which can overlook basic IT security controls, drives organizational security, companies “will overlook key vulnerabilities.”

• Other countries will move ahead on the issue of breach notification laws, while the U.S. Congress struggles with the issue.

For in-depth coverage of this topic and related issues, visit our Solution Arc on Managing and Insuring Cyber Security Risks.