Data Exfiltration: How Data Gets Out

[security curmudgeon <jericho () attrition org>]

http://www.csoonline.com/article/570813/Data_Exfiltration_How_Data_Gets_Out?page=1

Data Exfiltration: How Data Gets Out
Most attention goes to keeping hackers out. But once they're inside, how 
do they extract data from your organization? Research from Trustwave's 
SpiderLabs shows the answer is often surprisingly simple.
By Nicholas J. Percoco, SpiderLabs

  March 12, 2010  . CSO  .

Cyber criminals are increasingly becoming more sophisticated in their 
methods of attack. Often we can equate this to the methods of data 
exfiltration as well. Exfiltration, or exportation, of data is usually 
accomplished by copying the data from the system via a network channel, 
although removable media or physical theft can also be utilized.

In 2009, the SpiderLabs team at Trustwave investigated over 200 data 
breaches in 24 different countries. While the methods used by cyber 
criminals to exfiltrate data from a compromised environment varied, the 
method of entry into an environment was often via the remote access 
application being utilized by the target organization. In the SpiderLabs 
investigations, 45 percent of compromises occurred by attackers gaining 
access to a system through a remote access application. These were not 
zero-day exploits or complex application flaws, and the attacks looked no 
different to the IT staff than, for example, the CEO connecting from 
London while on a business trip. The attackers also didn't need to 
brute-force the accounts they used. SpiderLabs found that 90% of these 
attacks were successful because of vendor-default or easily guessed 
passwords, like "temp:temp" or "admin:nimda."

[..]
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