London, April 10, 2008
Panda Security, one of the world’s leading IT security providers, has today announced the global availability of Panda Security for Internet Transactions, an antifraud service for online transactions to protect against identity theft targeting online banks, pay platforms and e-commerce. This service warns companies when there is a targeted attack through malware and offers the tools to identify and block affected users, thereby reducing the possibility of online fraud.
Panda Security for Internet Transactions is Panda’s response to a dramatic increase in online fraud. Today, more than 40% of new malware is designed for online fraud, and according to a recent study conducted by Gartner, phishing attacks caused only in US alone losses to consumers of US$3.2 billion (£1.6bn) in 2007.
This new solution enables banks and businesses with online services to ensure that users launching transactions on their websites are not infected by any malicious code that affects the service. Banks and pay platforms can see the security status of their users and effectively manage the risk involved in online transactions.
Bankinter, a leader in online banking in Spain, has already implemented this solution to protect clients from the risks of online fraud.
Dominic Hoskins, Country Manager, Panda Security UK, stresses that this service does not just benefit online organizations but also their clients, as this new service will assure that their bank details, passwords, and identity information are safe when operating online.
“This is an innovative new service designed to help reduce the risks associated with online transactions across all online payment platforms. It will dramatically reduce the possibility of fraudulent operations as this is the only service on the market offering information about the security status of clients ”, adds Hoskins.
Panda Security for Internet Transactions leverages the benefits of Collective Intelligence, an innovative security model developed by Panda Security. This system is based on the collection of information concerning malware from the Internet community and the automated processing of this data in new, purpose-built data centers. As the knowledge is accumulated on Panda servers and not on clients’ computers, Collective Intelligence rapidly maximizes the detection capacity of Panda solutions while reducing clients’ bandwidth usage and resource consumption.
The benefits that this service offers organizations include:
- Reduction of online fraud: Panda Security for Internet Transactions provides tools and information to stop fraudulent activity. Organizations are rapidly alerted whenever there is a new malware attack targeting their users, and delivered the information needed to respond in time. Organizations will see how malware operates and how they can protect themselves. They can prevent infected users from accessing their website reducing the effects of online fraud.
- Control and management of threats to online transactions: This is the only service on the market offering information about a security status of clients (Advanced Customer Device Information). This can be used by an organization to create risk profiles, meaning the service can be configured to restrict the permission to carry out transactions to those clients that meet pre-determined security requirements.
- Expanding business thanks to improved security: Users’ lack of confidence in online security is one of the prime reasons for their reticence to use Web services. This tool reduces online fraud and allows companies to offer clients a secure environment for online transactions.
- Reduced operating costs: Currently, when users discover that someone has been operating fraudulently using their identity, they claim against the bank or company involved. Consequently, the bank or company is responsible for the loss and associated costs (compensation, insurance,…), and has to ensure that the attack is not further exploited to steal from other users. They have to find the malware responsible for the attack, discover how to block its effects and implement the strategy, and finally, calculate the impact it has had on its users and its business. This usually takes a minimum of 48 hours; sufficient time for the amount of money lost to increase considerably. Thanks to Panda Security for Internet Transactions these costs can be dramatically reduced by blocking the attempted fraud in real time.
Adware caused most infections in Q1 2008
Adware accounted for 28.58% of all infections, Trojans came second with 25.46%
London, April 1, 2008
According to the Q1 2008 report from PandaLabs (Panda Security) adware was the most common malware type in the first three months of the year and accounted for 28.58% of all infections.
New malware in 1st Q
Trojans with 25.46% of all infections, and worms with 9.94%, were the other most prevalent malicious codes.
With respect to new strains that have appeared over the last three months, 62.16% were Trojans, 20.34% were adware and 8.87% were worms.
“The huge amount of new Trojans put in circulation every month indicates that cyber-criminals are interested in creating new strains more frequently, making detection increasingly difficult for security solutions. These fail to update signature files in time, leaving users unprotected”, says Dominic Hoskins, UK Country Manager, Panda Security UK.
As for the most active viruses in the first quarter of 2008, the list is headed by the Comet adware. Another adware NaviPromo has taken second spot while notorious infection spreader Bagle.HX worm came third.
Threats to cell phones
PandaLabs Q1 2008 report includes a specific section on threats to cell phones: Smartphones, iPhones, etc. According to Panda Security’s laboratory, the main threats to these devices are worms, Trojans and spyware (spyphone).
Hoskins explains that their behaviour and features are similar to malicious codes for computers. He adds: “Trojans designed to steal confidential data like email passwords, instant messaging contacts etc. are the most prevalent, with 54.48% of all infections. This shows attacks against cell phones are becoming increasingly sophisticated”.
PandaLabs has outlined the following issues as the most likely to occur as a result of malicious activities targeting smartphones:
Malfunction: cell phone blocking.
Loss of productivity: battery consumption.
Unnecessary costs: sending of SMS to premium numbers.
Loss of data and information: deletion of folders and messages.
Theft of confidential information: phone numbers, SMS or other sensitive data that could be stored in the device.
PandaLabs Q1 2008 report details information on issues such as the main vulnerabilities discovered over the first three months of the year; a recent innovative attack that uses rootkits capable of replacing the computer’s Master Boot record (MBR); or an analysis of the evolution of “Storm Worm”, considered as one of the most prevalent worms in the previous year.
You can download the PandaLabs Quarterly report from http://www.pandasecurity.com/homeusers/security-info/tools/reports
Security Software industry takes first steps towards forming anti-malware testing standards
February 2, 2008
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More than 40 security software technologists and anti-malware testers from around the world recently met in Bilbao, Spain to formalize the charter of the Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization, or AMTSO. The formation of AMTSO has been driven by industry-wide concern about the increasing mismatch between what anti-malware technologies actually do, and the testing methodologies used to evaluate them. As anti-malware solutions become more complex, many existing tests are unable to evaluate product effectiveness properly, resulting in product reviews that are sometimes incomplete, inaccurate and misleading.
AMTSO is focused on addressing the global need for improvement in the objectivity, quality and relevance of testing methodologies. The organisation also aims to promulgate universally adopted standards and guidelines for anti-malware testing. The vision for AMTSO was formed in May 2007during the International Antivirus Testing Workshop in Reykjavik, Iceland, and developed further during the Antivirus Asia Researchers Conference in Seoul, South Korea last December. Pursuant to its preliminary charter, AMTSO will:
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Parties converge to address objectivity, quality and relevance of current anti-malware testing methodologies.
More than 40 security software technologists and anti-malware testers from around the world recently met in Bilbao, Spain to formalize the charter of the Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization, or AMTSO. The formation of AMTSO has been driven by industry-wide concern about the increasing mismatch between what anti-malware technologies actually do, and the testing methodologies used to evaluate them. As anti-malware solutions become more complex, many existing tests are unable to evaluate product effectiveness properly, resulting in product reviews that are sometimes incomplete, inaccurate and misleading.
AMTSO is focused on addressing the global need for improvement in the objectivity, quality and relevance of testing methodologies. The organisation also aims to promulgate universally adopted standards and guidelines for anti-malware testing. The vision for AMTSO was formed in May 2007during the International Antivirus Testing Workshop in Reykjavik, Iceland, and developed further during the Antivirus Asia Researchers Conference in Seoul, South Korea last December. Pursuant to its preliminary charter, AMTSO will:
- Provide a forum for discussions related to the testing of anti-malware and related products;
- Develop and publicize objective standards and best practices for testing of anti-malware and related products;
- Promote education and awareness of issues related to the testing of anti-malware and related products;
- Provide tools and resources to aid standards-based testing methodologies; and,
- Provide analysis and review of current and future testing of anti-malware and related products.
Hosted by Panda Security, the meeting in Bilbao included representatives from the industry’s leading companies and testing organizations.
Pedro Bustamante, Senior Research Advisor, Panda Security said: “The current Internet threat panorama requires the use of new technologies to provide adequate protection for IT systems. However, existing tests only evaluate certain aspects of the various security solutions available. For this reason, any users who simply go by the results of a test that doesn’t fully analyze each and every one of the capabilities of these solutions, will not have an objective perspective of whether a product is truly effective or not. We are convinced that the work of AMTSO – an organization to which we are proud to belong - will mitigate this situation, thereby contributing to improving IT protection for all users”.
Half a million computers infected with bots every day, PandaLabs annual report
January 22, 2008
Some half a million computers are infected by bots every day, according to data compiled by PandaLabs in its annual report on malware activity in 2007.
Approximately 11 percent of computers worldwide have become a part of criminal botnets, which are responsible for 85 percent of all spam sent.
Creators of botnets, known also as “bot herders” rent out such networks to the highest bidder. These are used then for downloading malware onto infected computers, causing denial of services, or most frequently sending spam.
According to the report, spam was one of the major threats during 2007. In fact, more than 50 percent of email received by home users was spam, while the percentage in corporate environments ran at between 80 to 95 percent.
PandaLabs estimates that it would take around 2,000 terabytes of disk space to store the total volume of spam sent in one day.
Dominic Hoskins, Panda UK, said: “It is important that Senior IT professionals, Risk Managers and eCommerce Managers are aware of the latest dangers that bots pose. Panda Security is hosting a specialist Security Seminar on the 25th January at the London Stock Exchange that will deliver a detailed assessment of the evolving threat landscape and the impact of malware on business today. The seminar will be an opportunity to learn how to address dangers posed by botnets and types of bots that cybercrooks use to operate as agents for a user or another program to simulate human activity.”
The report further points out that the subject matter and origin of most junk mail is varied. Sexual health was the most popular theme during the first quarter of 2007, accounting for 54 percent of all spam detected. In the second and third quarters, pharmaceuticals topped the list, with 45 percent and 30 percent respectively.
Russia topped the list of most notorious spam senders with 60 percent of all spam detected, while USA came second with 23 percent. Turkey (6 percent), Germany (4.7 percent) and the UK (3 percent) are among other countries from which a significant amount of spam is sent.
In 2007, PandaLabs uncovered several tools such as Zunker or Barracuda used to administer networks of thousands of infected computers across more than 50 countries.
The PandaLabs 2007 Annual Report also examines the following issues relating to malware:
-- Quarterly and annual malware statistics for 2007
-- The evolution malware kits
-- The use of social engineering as a means to distribute
malware
-- Internet crime trends for 2008
To download the PandaLabs 2007 Annual Report go to:
http://www.pandasecurity.com/homeusers/security-info/tools/reports
Bookings for Panda Security Seminar can be made at http://www.saferdigitalworld.com/
Some half a million computers are infected by bots every day, according to data compiled by PandaLabs in its annual report on malware activity in 2007.
Approximately 11 percent of computers worldwide have become a part of criminal botnets, which are responsible for 85 percent of all spam sent.
Creators of botnets, known also as “bot herders” rent out such networks to the highest bidder. These are used then for downloading malware onto infected computers, causing denial of services, or most frequently sending spam.
According to the report, spam was one of the major threats during 2007. In fact, more than 50 percent of email received by home users was spam, while the percentage in corporate environments ran at between 80 to 95 percent.
PandaLabs estimates that it would take around 2,000 terabytes of disk space to store the total volume of spam sent in one day.
Dominic Hoskins, Panda UK, said: “It is important that Senior IT professionals, Risk Managers and eCommerce Managers are aware of the latest dangers that bots pose. Panda Security is hosting a specialist Security Seminar on the 25th January at the London Stock Exchange that will deliver a detailed assessment of the evolving threat landscape and the impact of malware on business today. The seminar will be an opportunity to learn how to address dangers posed by botnets and types of bots that cybercrooks use to operate as agents for a user or another program to simulate human activity.”
The report further points out that the subject matter and origin of most junk mail is varied. Sexual health was the most popular theme during the first quarter of 2007, accounting for 54 percent of all spam detected. In the second and third quarters, pharmaceuticals topped the list, with 45 percent and 30 percent respectively.
Russia topped the list of most notorious spam senders with 60 percent of all spam detected, while USA came second with 23 percent. Turkey (6 percent), Germany (4.7 percent) and the UK (3 percent) are among other countries from which a significant amount of spam is sent.
In 2007, PandaLabs uncovered several tools such as Zunker or Barracuda used to administer networks of thousands of infected computers across more than 50 countries.
The PandaLabs 2007 Annual Report also examines the following issues relating to malware:
-- Quarterly and annual malware statistics for 2007
-- The evolution malware kits
-- The use of social engineering as a means to distribute
malware
-- Internet crime trends for 2008
To download the PandaLabs 2007 Annual Report go to:
http://www.pandasecurity.com/homeusers/security-info/tools/reports
Bookings for Panda Security Seminar can be made at http://www.saferdigitalworld.com/
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