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Imperva Discovers Emerging Attack Vector: Cloud Database Services as New Malware Platform
Latest Hacker Intelligence Initiative Report Finds Cyber Criminals Adopting Database as a Service for Infection and Data Exfiltration

REDWOOD SHORES, Calif., December 11, 2013 – Imperva, Inc. (NYSE: IMPV), pioneering the third pillar of enterprise security with a new layer of protection designed specifically for physical and virtual data centers, today released its latest Hacker Intelligence Initiative report, “Assessing the Threat Landscape of DBaaS.” Through an in-depth analysis of malware that used a shared hosting database for its Command and Control and drop server, Imperva discovered a new malware platform for cybercriminals: Database as a Service (DBaaS). The report concludes that by bringing data one step closer to hackers, DBaaS makes it possible for hackers to compromise an organization’s database without accessing its network – ultimately increasing the risk of a data breach.

“Our research suggests that we will soon see autonomous malware targeting internal databases within organizations – which we believe would lead to a greater risk of infection and compromise within a network,” said Amichai Shulman, chief technology officer at Imperva. “Organizations need to take the risks posed by cloud services into consideration as they decide which data they want to store externally, and adopt a mitigation strategy accordingly.”

While the perceived risk of cloud services is already high, the report identifies two factors in particular that increase risk to corporate data: the relative ease of accessing cloud databases, as well as the ease of quickly turning a legitimate foothold on these servers into a privilege escalation attack. Key findings also include:

  • Malware is now capable of connecting to both local and remote databases to retrieve, manipulate and exfiltrate information. 

  • Malware can leverage DBaaS for botnet management (e.g., Command & Control as well as Dropper functionality). 

  • Cloud databases are prone to attacks via both privilege escalation and exposed vulnerabilities, as opposed to on-premise databases, which are mostly compromised via privilege escalation.  

To download the full Imperva report, please visit http://www.imperva.com/download.asp?id=436.

Get up-to-date security insights on the Imperva Data Security blog.

About Imperva
Imperva, pioneering the third pillar of enterprise security, fills the gaps in endpoint and network security by directly protecting high-value applications and data assets in physical and virtual data centers. With an integrated security platform built specifically for modern threats, Imperva data center security provides the visibility and control needed to neutralize attack, theft, and fraud from inside and outside the organization, mitigate risk, and streamline compliance. Over 2,700 customers in more than 75 countries rely on our SecureSphere® platform to safeguard their business. Imperva is headquartered in Redwood Shores, California. Learn more: www.imperva.com, our blog, on Twitter.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including without limitation those regarding Imperva’s belief that autonomous malware targeting internal databases within organizations would lead to a greater risk of infection and compromise within a network.  These forward-looking statements are subject to material risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ substantially from expectations.  Investors should consider important risk factors, which include: the risk that demand for our data center security solutions may not increase and may decrease; the risk that we may not timely introduce new products or versions of our products and that they may not be accepted by the market; the risk that competitors may be perceived by customers to be better positioned to help handle data center security threats and protect their businesses from major risk; the risk that the growth of Imperva may be lower than anticipated; and other risks detailed under the caption “Risk Factors” in the company’s Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, on November 12, 2013 and the company’s other SEC filings. You can obtain copies of the company’s SEC filings on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.  
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© 2013 Imperva, Inc. All rights reserved. Imperva, the Imperva logo and SecureSphere are trademarks of Imperva, Inc.

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