Security Pros Say Apps Are Vulnerable -- And Constantly Attacked

If you worry that your organization's applications are vulnerable to attack, then you're not alone, according to study results released yesterday.

In a survey at the RSA Conference 2010 in San Francisco last week, researchers from security vendor Fortify found that most security pros are stressed about potential attacks on their apps.

In fact, 73 percent of respondents thought the applications in their companies had vulnerabilities that hackers could exploit. In fact, most agreed it would be "ignorant" to say they didn't. Twenty-six percent said they either did not know the answer or did not want to disclose the information.

And hackers are seeking to exploit those vulnerabilities, attendees said. Forty-seven percent of respondents said their companies are targeted or attacked more than once a day; many said their organizations are attacked "hundreds of times a day" or "every moment."

Most of the respondents (74 percent) said they place a high priority on software security, and most (63 percent) said they use a combination of tools for that purpose.

Eighty-eight percent of respondents admitted to doing some hacking themselves -- mostly for work purposes, they said.

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