RSA Conference

DDoS Attacks: Lessons Learned

Corero's Marty Meyer on How to Mitigate the Latest Threats
Some of the largest banks in the U.S. were unable to ward off sophisticated DDoS attacks, so what can smaller organizations do? Plenty, says Marty Meyer, President of Corero Network Security.

So far, the banking industry has seen two waves of distributed-denial-of-service attacks on institutions. The first wave focused on some of the biggest names in the business, while the recently suspended second wave included smaller banks and credit unions.

What is the singular message from these attacks?

"The key lesson is that even the large money-center banks are vulnerable to these cyber-attacks, and they have not evolved their security infrastructure to keep pace with the attackers," says Meyer, whose company helps organizations address DDoS. "If the large money-center banks like Wells Fargo and Bank of America have not taken steps to protect themselves from these kinds of attacks, then you can bet that the majority of regional banks and credit unions are at least as vulnerable."

Corero recently partnered with Ponemon Institute to conduct a DDoS study of banking institutions. Among the key findings: Of 350 institutions surveyed, 64 percent had suffered a DDoS attack in the past year, and only 17 percent of respondents said they were very effective at preventing these attacks.

"Everyone knows they are vulnerable, and therefore they are being attacked," he says.

In a pre-RSA 2013 interview about DDoS attacks - sure to be one of the event's hot topics - Meyer discusses:

  • Biggest lessons learned from attacks on banks;
  • Most telling results from Corero's recent DDoS research;
  • How organizations can best prepare to respond top DDoS.

As president of Corero Network Security, Meyer brings a proven record of success in high tech company management, reflecting a blend of expertise and experience in both technology and finance. Under Meyer's leadership, Corero has experienced solid growth, introduced significant new products and services, expanded its international presence, and added some of the best technology and business/salespeople in the country to ensure excellence and success.

Most recently, he served as chief operating officer and chief financial officer at ExtendMedia, where he negotiated contracts with major North American telecommunications companies, including AT&T, Bell Canada and Verizon, and entertainment giants, such as Disney, Paramount and NBC. At ExtendMedia, Meyer was directly responsible for driving PCI and PA-DSS compliance for the company's software platform and data center SaaS application deployments. He has more than 25 years' experience in finance, engineering and operations with both fast-growing start-ups and established technology companies. Previous experience includes COO and CFO positions at Bowstreet, Ucentric Systems, Equipe Communications, Sightpath and Xedia.

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