March 31, 2008 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- Web security firm ScanSafe (scansafe.com) released on Monday the results of its annual Global Threat Report (scansafe.com/annualgtr2007) revealing that Web threats, including viruses, Trojans, password stealers and other forms of malware, have become more prevalent over the past year.
Other key findings of the report showed that increasing numbers of legitimate sites are unknowingly hosting malware and compromised sites are remaining infected longer, in some cases more than two months.
"The numbers speak for themselves," says Mary Landesman, senior security researcher at ScanSafe. "Not only has there been a significant increase in known malware, but on average, zero-day or 'new' threats accounted for 21 percent of all the malware ScanSafe blocked. Further, this malware is remaining active on sites for weeks and in some cases months, leaving users exposed and representing a huge window of opportunity for cyber criminals."
ScanSafe's analysis also found a 61 percent increase in malware during the second half of 2007 with 21 percent of those being zero-day malware - new threats that have no existing patches or anti-virus signatures, forcing businesses that rely on signature updates to remain vulnerable. The most frequently blocked final stage malware were password-stealing Trojans targeting online gamers.
ScanSafe says the results were rounded up from a study of more than 80 billion scanned Web requests and 800 million blocked Web threats between January and December 2007 on behalf of corporate customers in more than 50 countries worldwide. The company also mentions in its press release and at least twice in the actual report that this study is the world's largest security analysis of real world traffic.
Landesman recently was involved in bringing a devious Web infection to public attention after the bug left over 10,000 websites infected and online security experts puzzled.
