Symantec Intelligence Report: September 2014

[PackMatt73]

It's that time of month again my friends...the latest Symantec Intelligence Report just dropped overnight! All the latest on the bad things the bad guys are trying to do... Our man **Ben Nahorney **is one of our top Cyber Security Threat Analysts as well as the chief architect of the SIR. Dig it:

Symantec Intelligence Report: September 2014

Welcome to the September edition of the Symantec Intelligence report. Symantec Intelligence aims to provide the latest analysis of cyber security threats, trends, and insights concerning malware, spam, and other potentially harmful business risks.

The average number of spear-phishing attacks rose to 53 per day in September, after a 12-month low in August. Spear phishing activity has returned to levels seen earlier in the summer, but is still down from the 12-month average of 85 attacks per day.

The .doc file type was the most common attachment type used in spear-phishing attacks, making up more than 52.9 percent of all attachments in September. At 4.8 percent, last month’s top attachment, .exe file types, dropped to fourth.

There were only four publically disclosed data breaches that took place within the month of September, resulting in the exposure of 2.5 million identities. However, there were 14 additional data breaches reported in September that took place earlier in the year. The largest data breach reported in September actually took place in April, and resulted in the exposure of 56 million identities.

Ransomware continues to decline as 2014 progresses. However, crypto-style ransomware remains high, making up 38 percent of all ransomware detected in September.

There were 600 vulnerabilities disclosed in the month of September, the highest number so far in 2014 and second-highest in the last 12 months.

One in 2,041 emails was identified as a phishing attempt, compared with one in 1,587 for August. While at first glance this looks like a big drop, it results in only a 0.01 percentage point decrease in the overall phishing rate.

We hope you enjoy the September Symantec Intelligence Report. You can download your copy here.

As always...let me know what we can be doing for you.

EXCELSIOR!

[StrongBad]

Thanks!

[PackMatt73]

@StrongBad you had me at StrongBad

[StrongBad]

I post here when I'm not checkin' ma email.

[scottalanmiller]

Thanks for the report. Looks like spear-phishing isn't as popular as it was earlier in the year.

[thanksajdotcom]

That's actually really good info!

[Minion Queen]

Great info to have thanks @PackMatt73!

[thanksajdotcom]

I am LOVING having the guy with the bow tie (not The Doctor) on ML more!

[Reid Cooper]

@ajstringham said:

I am LOVING having the guy with the bow tie (not The Doctor) on ML more!

Hey now.

[Reid Cooper]

Thanks Matt!

[thanksajdotcom]

@Reid-Cooper said:

@ajstringham said:

I am LOVING having the guy with the bow tie (not The Doctor) on ML more!

Hey now.

I'm not a Doctor Who fan but I wasn't bashing The Doctor at all, just clarifying.

[Nic]

Symantec Intelligence? Is that like Military Intelligence? Jumbo Shrimp? Just kidding, I love you Matt.

[Reid Cooper]

@ajstringham said:

I'm not a Doctor Who fan

[thanksajdotcom]

@Nic said:

Symantec Intelligence? Is that like Military Intelligence? Jumbo Shrimp? Just kidding, I love you Matt.

Not gonna lie, this made me chuckle more than it should.

[thanksajdotcom]

@Reid-Cooper said:

@ajstringham said:

I'm not a Doctor Who fan

Not...yet?

[Reid Cooper]

@ajstringham said:

@Reid-Cooper said:

@ajstringham said:

I'm not a Doctor Who fan

Not...yet?

Getting better.

[thanksajdotcom]

@Reid-Cooper said:

@ajstringham said:

@Reid-Cooper said:

@ajstringham said:

I'm not a Doctor Who fan

Not...yet?

Getting better.

LOL

[art_of_shred]

Thanks, Matt!

[PackMatt73]

@Reid-Cooper somebody once said... "bow ties are cool"