In the battle with cyber attackers, the more information CISOs have the better. Towards that end this week Google added more coverage for its free Safe Browsing Alerts  for network administrators.
Started five years ago, Safe Browsing Alerts for Network Administrators sends notifications to registered autonomous system owners  when Google’s systems detect harmful URLs on their networks.
Now the alerts include URLs related to unwanted software, malicious software and social engineering. The full set of data Google shares with network administrators who register their autonomous systems cover
- Compromised: Pages harming users through drive-by-download or exploits;
- Distribution: Domains that are responsible for launching exploits and serving malware. Unlike compromised sites, which are often run by innocent webmasters, distribution domains are typically set up with the primary purpose of serving malicious content;
- Social Engineering: Deceptive websites that trick users into performing unwanted actions such as downloading software or divulging private information. Social engineering includes phishing sites that trick users into revealing passwords;
- Unwanted Software: URLs which lead to software that violates Google’s Unwanted Software Policy. This kind of software is often distributed through deceptive means such as social engineering, and has harmful software traits such as modifying users’ browsing experience in unexpected ways and performing unwanted ad injections;
- Malware Software: Traditional malware downloads, such as trojans and viruses.
Google says it monitors about 40 per cent of active networks. Some 1,300 network administrators are actively using the tool, receiving 250 reports a day on whether their networks are hosting malicious content.
