New Security Research Reveals Password Inadequacy a Top Threat, Need for Multi-Factor Authentication

SEATTLE, Sept. 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- WatchGuard® Technologies, a leader in advanced network security solutions, today announced the findings of its Internet Security Report for Q2 2018, which explores the latest security threats affecting small to midsize businesses (SMBs) and distributed enterprises. The new research from the WatchGuard Threat Lab revealed that 50 percent of government and military employee LinkedIn passwords were weak enough to be cracked in less than two days. This finding, along with the emergence of the Mimikatz credential-stealing malware as a top threat and the popularity of brute force login attacks against web applications, underscores the reality that passwords alone can't offer sufficient protection, and emphasizes the need for multi-factor authentication (MFA) solutions in every organization.

"Authentication is the cornerstone of security, and we're seeing overwhelming evidence of its critical importance in the common trend of password- and credential-focused threats throughout Q2 2018," said Corey Nachreiner, chief technology officer at WatchGuard Technologies. "Whether it's an evasive credential-stealing malware variant or a brute force login attack, cyber criminals are laser-focused on hacking passwords for easy access to restricted networks and sensitive data. At WatchGuard, these trends are driving new innovative defenses within our product portfolio, including AuthPoint, our Cloud-based multi-factor authentication solution and our IntelligentAV service, which leverages three malware detection engines to prevent malware strains that evade traditional signature-based antivirus products. Every organization should seek out vendor and solution provider partners that offer layered protection against these ever-evolving attack techniques."

The insights, research and security best practices included in WatchGuard's quarterly Internet Security Report are designed to help organizations of all sizes understand the current cyber security landscape and better protect themselves, their partners and customers from emerging security threats. The top takeaways from the Q2 2018 report include:

    --  Roughly half of government and military employee passwords are weak.
        After conducting a thorough analysis of the 2012 LinkedIn data dump to
        identify trends in user password strength, WatchGuard's Threat Lab team
        found that half of all passwords associated with ".mil" and ".gov" email
        address domains within the database were objectively weak. Of the
        355,023 government and military account passwords within the database,
        178,580 were cracked in under two days. The most common passwords used
        by these accounts included "123456," "password," "linkedin," "sunshine,"
        and "111111." Conversely, the team found that just over 50 percent of
        civilian passwords were weak. These findings further illustrate the need
        for stronger passwords for everyone, and a higher standard for security
        among public service employees that handle potentially sensitive
        information. In addition to better password training and processes,
        every organization should deploy multi-factor authentication solutions
        to reduce the risk of a data breach.
    --  Mimikatz was the most prevalent malware variant in Q2. Representing 27.2
        percent of the top 10 malware variants listed last quarter, Mimikatz is
        a well-known password and credential stealer that has been popular in
        past quarters, but has never been the top strain. This surge in
        Mimikatz's dominance suggests that authentication attacks and credential
        theft are still major priorities for cyber criminals - another indicator
        that passwords alone are inadequate as a security control, and should be
        fortified with MFA services that make hackers' lives harder by requiring
        additional authentication factors in order to successfully login and
        access the network.
    --  More than 75 percent of malware attacks are delivered over the web. A
        total of 76 percent of threats from Q2 were web-based, suggested that
        organizations need an HTTP and HTTPS inspection mechanism to prevent the
        vast majority of attacks. Ranked as the fourth most prevalent web attack
        in particular, "WEB Brute Force Login -1.1021" enables attackers to
        execute a massive deluge of login attempts against web applications,
        leveraging an endless series of random combinations to crack user
        passwords in a short period of time. This attack in particular is
        another example of cyber criminals' heightened focus on credential
        theft, and shows the importance of not only password security and
        complexity, but the need for MFA solutions as a more effective
        preventative measure.
    --  Cryptocurrency miners earn spot as a top malware variant. As
        anticipated, malicious cryptominers are continuing to grow in popularity
        as a hacking tactic, making their way into WatchGuard's top 10 malware
        list for the first time in Q2. Last quarter, WatchGuard uncovered its
        first named cryptominer, Cryptominer.AY, which matches a JavaScript
        cryptominer called "Coinhive" and uses its victims' computer resources
        to mine the popular privacy-focused cryptocurrency, Monero (XRM). The
        data shows that victims in the United States were the top geographical
        target for this cryptominer, receiving approximately 75 percent of the
        total volume of attacks.
    --  Cyber criminals continue to rely on malicious Office documents. Threat
        actors continue to booby-trap Office documents, exploiting old
        vulnerabilities in the popular Microsoft product to fool unsuspecting
        victims. Interestingly, three new Office malware exploits made
        WatchGuard's top 10 list, and 75 percent of attacks from these attacks
        targeted EMEA victims, with a heavy focus on users in Germany
        specifically.

The complete Internet Security Report features an in-depth analysis of the EFail encryption vulnerability, along with insights into the top attacks in Q2 and defensive strategies SMBs can use to improve their security posture. These finding are based on anonymized Firebox Feed data from nearly 40,000 active WatchGuard UTM appliances worldwide, which blocked nearly 14 million malware variants (449 per device) and more than 1 million network attacks (26 per device) in Q2 2018.

For more information, download the full report here. To access live, real-time threat insights by type, region and date, visit WatchGuard's Threat Landscape data visualization tool today. Subscribe to The 443 - Security Simplified podcast at Secplicity.org, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

About WatchGuard Technologies, Inc.
WatchGuard® Technologies, Inc. WatchGuard® Technologies, Inc. is a global leader in network security, secure Wi-Fi, multi-factor authentication, and network intelligence. The company's award-winning products and services are trusted around the world by nearly 10,000 security resellers and service providers to protect more than 80,000 customers. WatchGuard's mission is to make enterprise-grade security accessible to companies of all types and sizes through simplicity, making WatchGuard an ideal solution for distributed enterprises and SMBs. The company is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, with offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America. To learn more, visit WatchGuard.com.

For additional information, promotions and updates, follow WatchGuard on Twitter, @WatchGuard on Facebook, or on the LinkedIn Company page. Also, visit our InfoSec blog, Secplicity, for real-time information about the latest threats and how to cope with them at www.secplicity.org. Subscribe to The 443 - Security Simplified podcast at Secplicity.org, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

Media Contacts:

Chris Warfield
WatchGuard Technologies
206.876.8380
chris.warfield@watchguard.com

Anthony Cogswell
Voxus PR
253.444.5980
ajcogswell@voxuspr.com

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SOURCE WatchGuard Technologies