AT&T reveals it is under constant attack and wards off over 200,000 malware attacks everyday

AT&T, one of United States's largest ISP (Internet Service Provider), has revealed that its networks are almost constantly under attack from malicious entities attempting to breach its security. It said it detects over 30 billion malicious scans on a daily basis, which involves cybercriminals scooping out an organisations' security vulnerabilities for future attacks. The company also said researchers have noted a rise of up to 1.5 million in the number of ransomware attacks detected between 2013 and 2015.

AT&T Security Solutions Vice President Jason Porter said in a company blog post: "As the number and kinds of cyberattacks continue to grow, breaches are inevitable. In 2015, 62 percent of organizations reported having security breaches. And 42 percent of these businesses said the negative impact on their business was significant. In the past year, security incidents have caused major enterprises an average of 23 hours of down time. Even medium-sized businesses experienced an average of 14 hours of downtime." He also added that just an hour or two of downtime can have far reaching consequences, translating into into "millions of dollars lost" for an organisation.

The company added that of the 30 billion malicious scans it detects on a daily basis, 5 billion are directed toward its own network that are thwarted by its team. The company said it also fends off over 200,000 malware attacks everyday, adding its global IP network detects around 400 million spam messages.

In its most recent cybersecurity report, AT&T also outlined that it has detected over 245,000 DDoS (Distributed Denial of Services) attacks targeting its network, which can often lead to full-scale data breaches. The company also noted that despite the recent and alarming rise in cyberattacks, most companies do not have IRP (incident response plan) in place in the event of an attack.

Highlighting the necessity for IRPs, AT&T said more organisations, both big and small, should consider planning IRPs as they provide a procedural plan of action that companies can follow when it detects that it has become the target of a cyberattack. AT&T also said that IRPs provide companies with the added ammunition required to avoid or even combat prevalent malware and ransomware techniques commonly used by hackers.