Secunia says firms must rethink patching strategy

With two billion users now accessing the internet, even a small success rate of attacks on endpoints translates to huge numbers of compromised systems. This situation is not lost on today's cybercriminals, who are using automated means to bypass legacy perimeter defenses and continually outwit any system put in place to stop them.

However, according to a new study, "The Secunia Half Year Report 2011," released on Thursday by Secunia, a Copenhagen-based provider of IT security solutions, a patching strategy can reduce vulnerability risks by as much as 80 percent.

The opportunities are increasing for attackers as the number of endpoints exponentially rises, the report says. Exacerbating the situation is the fact that endpoints are difficult to secure since they host numerous programs and plug-ins, and are engaged in countless ways by users.