Security Software Ineffective? So Says Symantec

As reported in the CompTIA Smart Brief on May 6th, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Symantec, the inventor of antivirus software, is declaring that host-based software security solutions can not stop enough malware exploits to be useful.  The problem with most exploits is that they take advantage of computer users’ trusting nature and gullibility to trick them in to permitting something that the software would usually like to block, or the malefactors gain access to systems and networks using stolen but legitimate user credentials.  Software based solutions can not block what is permitted by a human user, and are vulnerable to these types of exploits.

So rather than futilely battling to keep the cyber-attackers out,  Symantec and other computer and network security firms are looking at standalone hardware based perimeter defenses, intrusion detection systems, and traffic analysis systems to detect when a breach is occurring, likely to be occurring, or has already occurred, and take action to alert security and system administrators and locate and minimize the amount of damage that can happen.

The take-away for business owners is that you need to be upping your game when it comes to computer and network security, and look to acquire some significant perimeter defenses.  It probably makes sense to find a information security expert to consult about a project of this type.

0

About the Author:

I am a cybersecurity and IT instructor, cybersecurity analyst, pen-tester, trainer, and speaker. I am an owner of the WyzCo Group Inc. In addition to consulting on security products and services, I also conduct security audits, compliance audits, vulnerability assessments and penetration tests. I also teach Cybersecurity Awareness Training classes. I work as an information technology and cybersecurity instructor for several training and certification organizations. I have worked in corporate, military, government, and workforce development training environments I am a frequent speaker at professional conferences such as the Minnesota Bloggers Conference, Secure360 Security Conference in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, the (ISC)2 World Congress 2016, and the ISSA International Conference 2017, and many local community organizations, including Chambers of Commerce, SCORE, and several school districts. I have been blogging on cybersecurity since 2006 at http://wyzguyscybersecurity.com

Add a Comment


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.