The State Of App Security At The End Of 2012 [Infographic]

When we think about online security, the first thing that often comes to our minds is how we can keep our passwords and personal information safe. However, there are tons of ways hackers can sneak their way into your computer and your life other than just getting your password. There are more people on the planet now than ever before who are online, and many times we just trust that the applications we download are secure. We don’t even think about it. This article and infographic will make you think about app security and cyberattacks in general.

As much as we all bitch and moan about Facebook and their inadequacies, you have to admit that they are obviously doing some things right. One of those things is security. Of course, that’s not to say we don’t read about Facebook hacks, but at least you don’t get a virus on your computer every time you visit the site. With as many people who visit that site every day, that is a feat in itself.

This past October during “National Cyber Security Awareness” month, Facebook educated their employees in an innovative way about app security and overall online security in general. These days, hackers can get into your computer through some rather creative ways. It’s not as simple as you accidentally clicking on a malicious link in email or entering your password on a cloned site. It’s much more complicated than that. According to an article on Mashable called Facebook Hacks Its Employees To Teach Lessons On Cyberattacks, Facebook decided a real life experience would be more powerful than any webinar or standard training. They hacked their own employees. Any employee who was savvy enough to report the hack or to prevent it won a prize. The employees who didn’t notice it or who fell for the trick had to undergo more training about security.

When talking about application security specifically, I thought this infographic by Veracode called The State Of Appsec 2012 would provide a great overview of the history and the current state of app security. As more and more of us continue to intertwine our online and offline lives, security will continue to be a relevant issue in the years to come.