IBM X-Force Report says security threats have reached record levels

David Heath
Saturday, 28 August 2010 18:03

Business IT - Security

This week, IBM released its half-yearly X-Force Trend and Risk Report - a detailed analysis of the state of security threats and vendors responses to them.  Vulnerability disclosures are increasing, as well as the responses to them although the report found that 55% of the vulnerabilities reported in the first half of 2010 remained unfixed by mid-year.

Available here (registration required) the very extensive report can only be very briefly summarised in this short space.

"Threat dynamics continue to multiply and evolve at a furious pace, making it more crucial than ever to look at unfolding trends so we can better prepare our clients for the future," said Steve Robinson, general manager, IBM Security Solutions. "This year's X-Force report reveals that although threats are on the rise, the industry as a whole is getting much more vigilant about reporting vulnerabilities. This underscores the increased focus among our clients to continue looking for security solutions that help them better manage risk and ensure their IT infrastructure is secure by design." 

As well as observing a 36% increase in vulnerability disclosures to 4,396 in the first half of 2010, the X-Force team also noted that over half of these remained unfixed by mid-year.

The leading attack vectors remain web-based (55%) with particular interest in JavaScript and PDF files also remaining high.  Obfuscation of the attack code is also a growth area.

On a positive note, the report also observes that "In the first-half of 2010, organisations were doing more to identify and disclose security vulnerabilities than ever before. This in turn is having positive effects on the industry by driving more open collaboration to identify and eliminate vulnerabilities before cyber criminals can exploit them."