While hardware-level attacks are high, only 59% of companies have implemented a hardware security strategy, Dell and Forrester found.
Hardware-level breaches are one of the latest modes of attack by cybercriminals, according to a Dell report released on Wednesday. The majority (63%) of organizations said they experienced at least one data breach in the past year due to a hardware security vulnerability.
Dell's BIOS Security--The Next Frontier for Endpoint Protection report, conducted by Forrester, surveyed more than 300 employees to uncover the severity of hardware-level security issues. As security precautions and technologies become more sophisticated, cybercriminals are forced to find new tactics for attack. One of these new methods concerns an internal firmware chip called BIOS (Basic input/output system), the report found.
SEE: You've been breached: Eight steps to take within the next 48 hours (free PDF) (TechRepublic)
A BIOS is a small hardware microchip within a computer's motherboard. It is an extremely valuable component of a computer, as it acts as a gateway to the entire system's hardware and provides commands for how every piece of hardware is supposed to operate and interact, according to the report.
Given how crucial the BIOS is for a computer, the fact that cybercriminals are using it as an avenue for a cyberattack is particularly concerning--and the breaches have already begun. Nearly half (47%) of respondents said they experienced at least two hardware-level attacks in the past 12 months, the report found.
Most of these attacks were carried out via an external attack (29%) through phishing (43%), software vulnerabilities (41%), web application (40%), or mobile malware (38%), the report found.
These breaches can result in harmful consequences for an organization including loss of sensitive data (52%) financial loss related to system downtime (39%), slow IT remediation time (36%), and outages that affect customer-facing systems (35%), according to the report.
While nearly two-thirds of organizations recognized that they have a moderate to extremely high level of exposure to threats due to the hardware supply chain, only 59% said they have implemented security strategies.
Hardware security strategies
While three in five companies view BIOS and firmware exploits as very or extremely concerning, only half feel similarly about silicon-level vulnerabilities. This lack of consistency regarding hardware-level breaches leaves organizations open to damaging risks like loss of sensitive data, weakened competitive advantage, and financial repercussions, the report found.
To stay protected, chip manufacturer validation and supply chain validation are critical, and companies pledged to embrace these security practices moving forward, according to the report.
Nearly half (47%) of the companies said they are already implementing supply chain validation initiatives, and 30% said they plan to in the next 12 months. Even more companies (38%) said they also plan on adopting chip manufacturer validation in the next year, the report found.
By investing in stronger security measures, organizations will see significant benefits. Businesses reported top benefits such as growth in their enterprsie's overall security (55%), reduced expenses on their hardware (39%), increased business continuity (44%), and expedited digital transformation initiatives (42%).
The report also found that the majority of organizations (61%) expect endpoint and platform security from hardware security vendors, meaning these vendors must offer those features to gain valuable business.
For more, check out 2020 is when cybersecurity gets even weirder, so get ready on ZDNet.
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