Why resellers need to know about new security threats

Researchers at security vendors are constantly monitoring for emerging new threats. You only have to visit their websites for an update on the latest security breaches. So how often do resellers ensure they’re on top of this information?

It is not only a case of being aware of the threats in the market, but ensuring you have the patches in place so resellers’ customers are protected. Earlier this month Microsoft said it will release four patches, all of them critical, with one apparently fixing a zero-day Excel vulnerability. Fixes for several versions of the Microsoft Office Excel spreadsheet application are included in the affected software list for the vendor’s most recent patches.

Also this month, a scanning tool similar to the one a Princeton engineering team built last month to read encrypted data on a “cold boot” DRAM chip was publicly released by McGrew Security, a research firm.

There’s also malware which holds mobile phone data to ransom. The Kiazha.A code is currently targeting Symbian-based handsets in China. The malware removes all sent and received text messages, and threatens to permanently cripple the handset unless users pay a fee. Users are told to deposit a payment of around US$7 in an account through QQ, a Chinese instant messaging and virtual currency system. Kiazha.A is being distributed as part of a larger malware payload known as SymbOS/Multidropper.cr. Other elements automatically set up a QQ account for the user, and forward all text messages to the malware author. Users are charged for all messages sent by the malware.

These are just a few recent examples which our sister publication SC Magazine has covered. The media plays a big role in making such threats public knowledge, but it’s not enough to ensure resellers’ customers are protected. The channel has to take matters into their own hands when it comes to new threats.

We ask a couple of local security distributors: “What are the implications if resellers fail to stay up-to-date with new security threats?”