Symantec Report: 2015 Saw Increase in Zero-Day Vulnerabilities, Data Breaches, Malware

A Symantec report says the number of zero-day vulnerabilities was up 125 percent in 2015 from the previous year as cyber threat actors set up businesses and implement best practices in order to launch attacks against commercial firms and consumers.

The company said Tuesday the Internet Security Threat Report indicates that 2015 saw nine reported cases of major data breaches that compromised 429 million personal records.

“Advanced criminal attack groups now echo the skill sets of nation-state attackers,” said Kevin Haley, director of Symantec Security Response.

“They have extensive resources and a highly-skilled technical staff that operate with such efficiency that they maintain normal business hours and even take the weekends and holidays off,” said Kevin Haley, director, Symantec Security Response.

The report noted that 430 million variants of malware were uncovered and that crypto-ransomware attacks climbed by 35 percent in 2015.

Symantec also reported a 200 percent rise in technical support scams that incite mobile device users to procure fraudulent services through call centers run by cyber criminals.

The company recommended that enterprises should adopt threat intelligence, encryption and network security tools to help detect network vulnerabilities and facilitate response to cyber threats.