A Multi-Layered Approach to Stopping Information Theft

Spyware Prevention:
Internet Security Systems' Multi-Layered Approach
to Stopping Information Theft
Copyright© 2005 Internet Security Systems, Inc. All rights reserved worldwideSpyware Prevention: Internet Security Systems' Multi-Layered Approach to Stopping Information Theft An ISS Whitepaper
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Overview 1
Why is Spyware a Hot Security Issue? 1
Spyware Delivery Methods 1Personalization Cookies 1Trojans 2Drive-by Downloads 2Hacking 2Piggybacking Spyware 2
Spyware Endangers Organizations 3Physical Resources 3Information and Identity Theft 4
Spyware: The Evolving Threat 4E-mail Threats 4Web Sites 4Pop-Up Ads and Images 4Social Engineering and Spyware 4
Identifying Spyware 5
Fighting Spyware 5Search and Destroy 5Blocking Install 6Blocking Execution 6®Proventia Enterprise Security Platform - Internet Security Systems' Solution to Spyware 7
Fighting Spyware with Proventia ESP 7® ®Gateway and Network Protection - Proventia Integrated Security Appliances & Proventia Intrusion Prevention Appliances 7®Host or Desktop - Proventia Desktop 8Intrusion Prevention System (Gateway and Network) 8Web Filtering (Gateway and Network) 9Virus Prevention System (VPS) (Host) 9Application Control and Communication Control (Host) 10®X-Force Research and Development (Gateway, Network and Host) 10
Conclusion 11
About Internet Security Systems, Inc. 11
Appendix A 12
Appendix B 19Spyware Prevention: Internet Security Systems' Multi-Layered Approach to Stopping Information Theft An ISS Whitepaper 1
Overview Spyware is but the latest in a long list of Internet threats facing individuals and organizations alike. While it may sound relativelyinnocuous, spyware is the culmination of years of hacking development by cyber criminals. Spyware does more than just spy; it records andreports back specific information about the computer it infects. Under the right circumstances, and lacking adequate security precautions,spyware can infect a corporate host system as easily as a PC in a private home. Spyware is any software application that, without the user's knowledge, collects information about the system it resides on and reportsthat information back to a third party. Estimates concerning the percentage of computers infected with spyware ranges from a relatively1 2low 20 percent according to PC Pitstop , to a high of 80 percent in a 2004 study by AOL and the National Cyber Security Alliance .Spyware is a modern version of organized crime in the 1920s, and one of the latest attempts by those working outside ethical, if not legalboundaries, to take advantage of Internet users. By hook or by crook, spyware purveyors have carved a niche for themselves that has yet tobe seriously challenged on the legislative front.
Why is Spyware a Hot Security Issue? Spyware is at best a nuisance and at worst, a serious security threat that puts every piece of information an organization maintains atrisk. In a matter of minutes, a single spyware application can perform a number of damaging actions, including: ? Install a back-door into a computer system for hacker access. ? Search for and steal bank account information, tax records, social security numbers, credit card information, corporate financialrecords, confidential and proprietary business records, etc. ? Open an organization up to lawsuits and government scrutiny over privacy violations. ? Delete or modify registry settings on a host computer, either disabling the setting, or interfering with certain functions within the registry.? Turn off security software (or any software), or prevent applications from updating themselves to fix critical security holes.? Take over external hardware, including Web cams.
Spyware Delivery MethodsSpyware comes in many forms and varies in intention from simple tracking to outright theft. If gauged on a scale ranging from ethical tounethical, the different shades of spyware would show up along all points on the scale. Personalization Cookies Not all software that collects and relays information back to a third-party is spyware in the traditional sense of the word. Also, not everypiece of information identified as spyware by various anti-spyware software, is present against the user's wishes. Good examples of thisare personalization cookies. Personalization cookies are identification markers placed on a user's computer when the user vi... [download for more]