Web 2.0 "a big threat to corporate security"

Cyber criminals are becoming more sophisticated and Web 2.0 sites could allow hackers to steal confidential information from organisations, according to an industry commentator.

Steve Fallin, director of IT security company WatchGuard's Rapid Response team said that the company's research team has identified five key threats that endanger corporate infrastructure: DNS system attacks, virus and malware, poorly-written web applications, hacking for profit, and the end users themselves.

"The increase in the range and sophistication of threats, combined with more complex architectures and the move to Web 2.0, will make the job of securing enterprise networks more difficult than ever before," said Fallin. "Other factors putting organisations at more risk include increased levels of remote access, continued poor user behaviour and the shift from hobby hackers to organised crime."

He said the research said the focus of web-based attacks had moved to applications running on the web server and the data systems that back them up by exploiting flaws in website design.

Fallon added that virus infections on the desktop had now changed into sophisticated blended threats and attacks such as phishing and drive-by downloads targeted the most vulnerable portion of the network infrastructure - its users - with surprising levels of success.

"The last few years have seen a considerable change in the nature of security challenges faced by the internet-enabled enterprise," he said. "As we are now on the verge of widespread adoption of Web 2.0, with its promise of the collaborative enterprise, it is vital to adapt enterprise security to address the threats posed by a Web 2.0 world."

If websites are not designed properly and securely, they can be used as a platform to attack the data behind it leading to information disclosure and online fraud, according to Fallin.

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