Coming as a warning to companies of all sizes, the increase and severity of Internet malware has been announced today by Webroot Software , Inc., a company providing Internet security software for consumers, enterprises and SME markets. Business disruptions due to malware occured in 43% of the cases, according to the Webroot® State of Internet Security report. Businesses are offered solutions to put an end to data security breaches, as it has been shown by the report that a low level of protection can become very costly and lead to legal implications.

    Cybercrime has become the number three priority for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), due to its organized nature, rapid growth and severity. It is only surpassed by counter-terrorism and counter-intelligence. The results of the Webroot research, that used the Phileas™ automated spyware research system, show that malware is harbored by 1.7 percent (4.2 million) out of 250 million URLs around the world. Almost 3 million of those malicious sites were discovered in 2006 alone.

    Peter Watkins, CEO at Webroot Software, Inc, stated: “Our research has shown that the methods of infection, which just a short time ago were considered incredibly advanced, are now commonplace, demonstrating how quickly today's threats are evolving into a global security concern. Despite the growth and severity of malware, over 60 percent of businesses don't have an information security plan. Businesses need to control this threat by adequately protecting themselves and their customers.”

Spyware has caused business losses for over 40 percent of the companies surveyed and compromised confidential information in 26 percent of the cases, according to the Webroot report.

The rate of spyware infection shows that:

    * 39 percent of companies reported Trojan horse attacks;
    * 24 percent reported system monitor attacks;
    * 20 percent reported pharming and keylogger attacks.

    A recent report by the Small Business Technology Institute shows that 20 percent of all companies don't even have adequate virus protection, despite the growing threat and the legal and regulatory compliance measures in place. Even more, two-thirds of these companies don't even have an information security plan, and security decisions are usuallly made only after suffering a damaging information security incident.

    Watkins also said: “It's obvious from this research that businesses worldwide are operating under a false sense of security. Because of the impact on corporate revenues and reputation that unprotected users can cause, proactive security should be a top priority for every company. To help support this effort, the State of Internet Security report will also offer some basic best-practices that companies can follow to help secure them against malware and cybercrime.”

    Issued quarterly, the State of Internet Security report is an in-depth review and analysis of the most pressing computer and data security-related concerns. Each report focuses on a specific aspect of information security, providing industry data, trends and best practices in light of the threat landscape.

For more information on the State of Internet Security report, you can go to www.webroot.com/soisreport