This is “In 2 Minutes,” brought to you by Brilliance Security Magazine, the video series that tells you what you need to know about important security-related topics, in just 2 minutes. Today we will review the WatchGuard Internet Security Report for Q2 of 2017.
WatchGuard recorded data from over 33,000 active appliances for this report. Their Gateway AntiVirus service blocked nearly 11 million malware variants, which is a 22% increase over the previous quarter. Their APT Blocker claims a 53% increase and stopped an additional five and a half million advanced malware threats. Here you can see their top ten antivirus hits for the quarter.
As in their previous reports, WatchGuard sees more malware blocked in EMEA than anywhere else, with 47.3%. The Americas, however, are gaining with 39.4% found from that region.
By comparing the number of threats detected by their signature-based Gateway Antivirus service against those only detected by their APT Blocker, they can estimate the number of zero-day vs known malware threats. Their statistics show that 47% of malware was zero-day while 53% was known previously.
Some good news was found in a 30% decrease in overall network attacks, compared to the previous quarter. Their Intrusion prevention systems blocked nearly three million network attacks. Here are the top ten IPS hits this period.
WatchGuard concludes their report by making three security recommendations. First, re-emphasize phishing awareness with your employees. Second, harden your identity servers and consider using multi-factor authentication. Third, don’t rely on signature-based antivirus, rather deploy an advanced malware solution.
You can read the entire report at Watchguard.com