Corporate malware on the rise

25 October, 2007

PandaLabs alerts that almost 72% percent of companies with more than 100 computers have active malware on their networks.

The data was collected between May and July, 2007, and consisted of more than 1,200 firms with security solutions installed.

The aim of the study was to uncover the number of ‘protected’ corporate computers, revealing that they are indeed infected and that in majority of cases their owners are not even aware of it.

The study also analysed the type of protection installed on infected computers and its effectiveness relative to malware detection. It revealed that systems protected by Computer Associates had the highest infection rate of 4.55%, which was then closely matched by Trend Micro with 4.3%. Symantec had a rate of 2.8% of infected systems and McAfee 2.28%. Panda outperformed its competitors by a mile with a score of 0.73%.

“The dramatic increase in the amount of malware in circulation can be explained by a shift of interests among malware creators. They are no longer interested in causing general havoc but completely focus on financial benefits. Although traditional security solutions do protect, in the wake of constant malware sophistication these must be complemented with online periodic audits, which, like Malware Radar, are able to detect even the malware that goes undetected by installed protection,” explains Pedro Bustamante, Senior Research Advisor at Panda Security.

Adware is the top malware on corporate networks (63.04%) followed by Trojans accounting for 12.57% of malicious code. Corporate PCs have also faced a significant increase in banker Trojans and Rootkits, which are designed to conceal malicious activities.

In the wake of this increasing threat, Panda Security has developed a new security model based on ‘Collective Intelligence’. This system is based on the collection of information on newly created malware from the Internet community and the automated processing of this data in Panda’s new data laboratories. This is correlated and leveraged to offer greater detection and improved security for clients.

PandaLabs’ report can be downloaded from:
http://www.pandasecurity.com/enterprise/downloads/white-papers/?sitepanda=particulares