Intel's McAfee Labs Publishes Threat Predictions Report

By Chrissie Cluney December 20, 2016

Where do you go to get the most updated information on iCloud security for yourself or your business? If you are searching for some reliable information, then try Intel.

The company’s Security department released its McAfee Labs 2017 Threats Predictions Report. This report identifies 14 threat trends to watch in 2017, the most critical developments to watch for in cloud security and the Internet of Things (IoT) security, and the six most difficult-to-solve challenges facing the cyber security industry.

The researchers at Intel (News - Alert) extended an invitation to 31 of its Security thought leaders to ask their opinions on the topic. The report examined current trends in cybercrime and made predictions about what the future may hold for organizations working to take advantage of new technologies for both advancement of their businesses and security protection.

“To change the rules of the game between attackers and defenders, we need to neutralize our adversaries’ greatest advantages,” said Vincent Weafer, vice president, Intel Security’s (News - Alert) McAfee Labs.

What are some of the predictions for the upcoming year? The report predicts that ransomware attacks will decrease in volume and effectiveness in the second half of 2017. Windows vulnerability exploits will continue to decline. At the same time, those targeting infrastructure software and virtualization software will increase. Also hardware and firmware will be increasingly targeted by sophisticated attackers.

The McAfee (News - Alert) Report noted that hackers using software running on laptops will attempt “dronejackings” for a variety of criminal or hacktivist purposes. Mobile attacks will combine mobile device locks with credential theft, which will allow cyber thieves to access such things as banks accounts and credit cards. IoT malware will open backdoors into the connected home that could go undetected for years. Machine learning will accelerate the proliferation of and increase the sophistication of social engineering attacks. And fake ads and purchased “likes” will continue to proliferate and erode consumers’ trust. This upcoming year could prove to have security departments at major companies on their toes.

The McAfee Labs report also described more of the role of the hacktivist. They are able to hack more easily with ad copied by attackers to boost malware delivery capabilities.

It is of the utmost of importance that companies and cybercrime units come together to target those hacktivists who could pose a threat and put an end to their cyber attacks.

How will Intel’s Security attempt to solve this menacing problem?

“As a new defensive technique is developed, its effectiveness increases until attackers are compelled to develop countermeasures to evade it. To overcome the designs of our adversaries, we need to go beyond understanding the threat landscape to changing the defender-attacker dynamics in six key areas: information asymmetry, making attacks more expensive, improving visibility, better identifying exploitation of legitimacy, improving protection for decentralized data, and detecting and protecting in agentless environments,” said Weafer.

Intel will continue to strive to protect their consumers from cyber attacks and other types of breaches through their technology and their dedication to assisting in the protection of cyber security.  




Edited by Ken Briodagh


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