Check Point Research reveals its 2014 Security Report

Check Point Software Technologies has issued its 2014 Security Report, the company’s second annual report uncovering the major threat trends that impacted organizations across the world in 2013.

Bhaskar Bakthavatsalu, Regional Director - India & SAARC, Check Point Software Technologies, said, "The Checkpoint Security Report is a vital source of information on trending malware that can help organizations address and enhance their security requirements. Given the internet penetration in the country and the ever-changing nature of cyber threats, businesses are vulnerable to different types of threats. Check Point is committed to identifying such threats and providing solutions to tackle multiple scenarios. It is crucial for organizations to be aware of the kind of threats that can affect their functioning."

The 2014 Security Report reveals the prevalence and growth threats on enterprise networks, through information obtained over the course of 2013. This report is based on collaborative research and in-depth analysis of over 200,000 hours of monitored network traffic, from more than 9,000 Threat Prevention gateways, across organizations in 122 countries.

Overall malware activity grew dramatically year-over-year. Our research found malicious software within 84% of the organizations under analysis; this malware was downloaded at an average rate of one every ten minutes.Check Point’s Threat Emulation sensors revealed that 33% of organizations downloaded at least one infected file with unknown malware for the period between June and December 2013. Of those infected files, 35% were PDFs.

Bot infections continued in prevalence, with a host infected by a bot every 24 hours. In 2013, at least one bot was detected in 73% of our surveyed organizations, an increase from 63% in 2012. Organizations also struggled with containing bots. Check Point found that 77% of bots were active for more than four weeks. Bots also communicated with their Command and Control (C&C) every three minutes.

Data loss was top-of-the-mind in 2013, with recent breaches and mass theft targeting consumer data at well-known brands like Target, Neiman Marcus and Michaels. Check Point research found that 88% of the organizations analyzed experienced at least one potential data loss event, growing from the 54% observed in 2012. In fact, in 33% of the financial institutions surveyed by Check Point, credit card information was sent outside of the organizations, while 25% of healthcare and insurance institutions researched sent HIPAA-protected information outside of their walls.