Exploit Kit Attacks up by 75%

Infoblox DNS Threat Index reports in Third Quarter 2015 most exploit kit attacks distributed through spam e mail or compromised websites

Infoblox says creation of DNS infrastructure by cybercriminals to unleash exploit kits increased 75 percent in third quarter of 2015 from the same period in 2014, as reported in the newest edition of the Infoblox DNS Threat Index, powered by IID.

The Infoblox DNS Threat Index measures the creation of malicious DNS infrastructure, including exploit kits. Four exploit kits—Angler, Magnitude, Neutrino, and Nuclear—accounted for 96 percent of total activity in the category for the third quarter.

Most exploit kit attacks are distributed through spam emails or compromised web sites, or are embedded in online ads. Cybercriminals need the Domain Name System (DNS) to register domains for building the “drive-by” locations where exploit kits lie in wait for users, and for communicating with command-and-control servers that send instructions to infected devices and extract information.

“Exploit kits are behind some of the highest-profile attacks in recent months,” said Craig Sanderson, Senior Director of security products at Infoblox. “For example, a recent Angler attack on a major British newspaper implanted malicious ads on the site for five days, potentially exposing millions of online visitors to infection.”

“Organizations need to protect themselves by plugging into reliable sources of threat intelligence, then use that intelligence to disrupt malware communications through protocols such as DNS.” said Rod Rasmussen, chief technology officer at IID.