Report: Users the Weak Link in Security

Phishing
Risk Management

Cyber-criminals are targeting the most vulnerable access points within businesses - employees - to execute their attacks, a new study finds.

In its annual closely watched security report, IBM warns that although widespread virus outbreaks are on the decline, on the whole online attacks are expected to rise in 2006. The culprit: highly targeted attacks that rely on naive users.

According to IBM's 2005 Global Business Security Index Report, e-mail-borne viruses dropped sharply in 2005. In 2004, 6.1% of e-mails contained a virus; in 2005, that declined to only 2.8%. "What we're seeing is more directed targeted attacks, and we really think that's because of the financial motivation and the underground economy driving those things," an IBM security expert said.

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