Jul 27, 2010—Emerging Technology Series – ZScaler: A Cloud Security Service for Web Traffic

by Ryan Spanier, Senior Information Security Engineer

An excerpt from the July/2010 issue of the Gladiator newsletter, The Shield –

The Problem: The Internet has become a haven for cyber-criminals. A lack of international law and cooperation has enabled a thriving underground economy to grow and prosper online. And the bad guys are there for one reason, namely, to make money. The easiest way to make money on the Internet is to use malware, which can send spam, steal confidential information, take over sensitive systems, and consume precious network resources. Malware infections are a big problem for financial institutions because they represent a real threat to an institution’s reputation and assets.

Malware can enter an institution’s network through multiple avenues, but the most prevalent route is through Web browsing. Web browsers and their supported plug-in applications, such as Adobe Reader and Flash, have vulnerabilities that can be exploited so as to install malware without a user’s consent or knowledge; this is called a drive-by download. Furthermore, users can be tricked into installing malicious software through misleading advertisements, such as fake Anti-virus (AV) pop-ups. In addition, often times users will click on links included in spam emails that will then install malware on their systems. (continued)

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