/Subpage_toppicture.gif)
Increase in virus on popular websites |
/Printer_Icon.gif){kind=icon} |
At SoftScan we are noticing that more and more completely legitimate and popular websites are being infected with malicious viruses, which in so doing impact the users. Web-based malware has increased by 278% in the first half of 2008 alone.
IT criminals are constantly becoming better at utilising users' behaviour and, at the same time, they are becoming more and more creative in the development of new malware.
We spend more time on the Internet
The time employees spend online has increased markedly. The increased time online is a result of, among other things, the growing demand for mobility and accessibility. For example, this can be seen in the sharp increase in employees who use laptop computers.
Social network in working hours
Online activities are not just work-related. Up to 40% of the time employees spend on the Internet is used on things other than work. Surfing for entertainment and attending to social networks, e.g. through Facebook and MySpace, reduces productivity, occupies bandwidth and constitutes a serious threat to the company's IT security. For example, the increased threat is due to the following issues:
- 1 in 20 popular websites contain malware.
- Spyware is the fastest growing area within web threats - the volume is doubled every month and the complexity is growing.
- Employees only use their VPN connection for 17% of the time they are browsing - what about the remaining 83%?
- A single, successful virus attack via the Internet is 50 to 100 times more expensive than a traditional email-based virus attack.
Focus on the new security risk
As things stand today, by far the majority of companies do not focus sufficiently on the security risk that occurs by moving about on the Internet and with the online transfer of important information. This means that hackers have, to a large extent, ample opportunity to access important company information or for that matter to damage the company's systems. In addition to this, IT criminals have become even more innovative and faster at gaining access.
Until now, the majority of companies have primarily focused on email security and being able to limit employees' access to various websites in order to maintain productivity. But the growing tendency of IT criminals to utilise users' behaviour means that traditional web filters on their own are not enough to safeguard the companies against threats from the Internet.
