Symantec [SYMC] has observed a shift in cyber targets from the federal government to manufacturing, including defense contractors.
Defense contractors accounted for six of the top 10 manufacturers affected by cyber intrusions. The government fell from the top target in 2012 to fourth on the list. The findings come as part of the firm’s annual Internet Security Threat Report released this week.
Symantec has also found increased attacks at smaller firms. This raises questions of supply chain safety, according to Paul Wood, Symantec’s Cyber Security Intelligence Manager.
“You can become a target not because you have something interesting on your network that they want access to, but because of whom you do business with,” he said.
Symantec is not certain on the reason for increased attacks on manufacturing and the rise in attacks on smaller businesses, Wood said.
“Perhaps they see these organizations as a springboard,” he said. “We can only speculate.”
For a contractor reading the report, Wood said the biggest takeaway is focus on your supply chain. Smaller firms lower on the chain should invest in security measures because it will make doing with business with them more attractive.
“Smaller businesses have to adopt the same routine processes that larger businesses have been doing for a long time,” he said.
A third trend in the report is a change in tactics for attackers. Spear phishing is now attempting to bring victims to specific websites, thus bypassing email controls. The method–called a “waterhole” attack–draws users to a specific site, as animals would gather around a watering hole.
“It doesn’t require much energy” on the part of the attackers, Wood said.
To combat a waterhole attack, firms will need to invest in web browsing security measures in addition to email restrictions, he said.
A fourth trend is the proliferation of threats against mobile platforms, particularly for Android. Wood said the main concern in the mobile arena is the increase in modified malware that has led to numerous variants, or “families.” Variants and families have risen by 58 percent in the past year, according to the report.
The results of this year’s report suggest that firms should rethink their defenses, Wood said. Ticking the anti-virus software box is no longer sufficient.
“You have to have other layers of defense,” he said, including at the end points of servers and where users access the Internet.