New cybersecurity reality: Attackers are winning

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This past year's wave of high-profile, extremely sophisticated cyberattacks are a watershed moment for the security field, according to RSA chief Arthur Coviello.

"People in our line of work have been going through hell in the past 12 months," Coviello said during his kickoff keynote for RSA's 2012 conference, one of the largest annual gatherings of U.S. cybersecurity professionals. "Our networks will be penetrated. We should no longer be surprised by this." For companies to protect their most critical systems, they have to fundamentally overhaul their approach, according to RSA. Online security has traditionally been about building the biggest, fiercest defenses possible to keep attackers out. That's not enough. Now, you have to assume you've been compromised, and invest just as heavily in detection. Less than 5% of cybersecurity breaches are discovered within hours, according to the latest edition of Verizon's threat report, the industry's most comprehensive annual study. Almost 80% weren't found for weeks -- or months.


New cybersecurity reality: Attackers are winning