Dark Reading: Tech Insight: Six Security Threats You Need To Know About

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Security pros will have their hands full with revamped versions of current threats, while new ones also will bubble to the top

Jan 07, 2011
By John Sawyer

Security professionals were inundated with new attacks -- and even some old ones were given new life -- in 2010. We saw Adobe Acrobat and Flash became the No. 1 target of malware and penetration testers as new zero-day vulnerabilities were discovered and left unpatched for weeks, even months in some organizations.

On top of the everyday problems that security pros face, there was a huge uptick in malware that seemed to be coming at us from all directions. According to a report from Panda Security, 2010 was responsible for more than one-third of all known malware.

Many of the attacks that were discovered, as well as those that resurfaced, are likely to be around for a while as we move into 2011. Whether they will be a concern for your organization is something best left to a proper risk assessment; some might not be applicable. For example, if your computers are not connected to the Internet and USB flash drives are not allowed, then it's highly unlikely malware looking to steal online banking credentials will be an issue.

Following is a list of issues security pros should expect to face this year. The material comes from my recent presentation at "Bad Guys, Governance, And Other Things That Keep You Awake At Night," an InformationWeek and Dark Reading event in Washington, D.C., and New York.

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