The growing number of flaws in web browsers is viewed as the biggest endpoint security headache by today’s IT decision-makers, new research has revealed.
A research initiative from Malwarebytes shared with Infosecurity shows that with the number of exploitable browser vulnerabilities accelerating this year, 72% of the 685 IT decision-makers questioned said this made security difficult in their organization, more so than any other issue.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, those at companies with 1,000+ endpoints were particularly wary of the issue.
The research also shows that a staggering 82% of all companies have experienced at least one online attack in the last year alone. This is supported by a worrying trend for multiple attacks, with the average company being subjected to three, all of which took a severe toll on help desks and employee productivity.
Further, the threat from ransomware to the enterprise environment was shown to weigh heavily on the minds of those whose businesses were infected. Despite being the least prevalent specific threat in terms of overall numbers, those who did experience ransomware rated it as most severe in terms of impact, beating even advanced persistent threats (APTs).
“It’s sobering to see such a large number of companies suffering from attacks,” said Marcin Kleczynski, CEO of Malwarebytes. “The growing concerns over browser vulnerabilities are a particularly notable trend, speaking volumes about their effectiveness as an attack method. Given the ever-advancing threat landscape, it should be obvious by now that an endpoint security strategy built around a single traditional antivirus solution isn’t enough.”
And indeed, the survey outlines growing concerns around traditional security suites. An overwhelming majority of respondents (84%) agreed that traditional antivirus has become less effective in the face of modern threats.
The good news is that those in charge of security budgets are beginning to consider a layered approach, with 78% of businesses questioned planning to deploy multiple endpoint solutions by the end of 2015.
“By employing a layered approach that uses an advanced endpoint security solution, organizations can better protect their data and reduce help desk time, which will positively impact their bottom line,” Kleczynski added.
This is a message that is resonating: the research also determined that enterprise IT teams still discern the largest impact from such threats to be the increased time spent at help desks, with 64% saying this was the biggest issue, followed closely by lost employee productivity.