Defending Your Business from Threat

Defend Your

Business from

Evolving

Malware Threats

an

®

Security eBook

Contents…

Defend Your Business from

Evolving Malware Threats

This content was adapted from the eSecurity Planet website.

Contributors: Geoff Webb, Sean Michael Kerner and Pam Baker.

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Malware Stats: 72 Percent of Threats are Unique

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The Evolution of Malware and Information Security

Unique Malware Continues Its Rise

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The Best Malware and Antivirus Tool is Prevention

Defend Your Business from

Evolving Malware Threats

The Evolution of Malware and

Information Security

By Geoff Webb

D

espite years of investment and research by

the security industry, malware continues to

play a significant role in the theft of sensitive

data. In fact, according to a report from

the Verizon Business Risk Team, malware was present in

around 80 percent of breaches.

If malware presents such an obvious risk in data breaches,

why haven’t security organizations done something to

prevent its use?

The fact is that traditional

approaches to stopping

malware, such as relying on

signature-based anti-virus,

no longer provide sufficient

protection. It’s too easy for

malware authors to write code

that is able to avoid detection

and operate successfully well

below the anti-virus radar.

Attackers can modify existing

malware slightly, add new

functionality where needed and

enhance their ability to avoid

detection with little effort using

readily available tools.

This was certainly the case with the Zeus family of

malware, estimated to have now infected millions of

computers in the U.S. and around the world. Zeus is

potentially responsible for thefts measured in the tens of

millions of dollars.

At the heart of the matter is that once malware is

installed, it is incredibly difficult to spot. It can take weeks

or even months to realize that malware is present. Often

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