The volume and severity of malware incidents is only set to grow unless a fresh approach to cybersecurity is taken to stop them
June 02, 2016 — Sioux City, IA–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Up to half of U.S. organizations have experienced malware attacks which have had a severe impact on their business operations, according to new research by IDG Connect on behalf of PC Pitstop, makers of Tech Sentry and PC Matic security software.
Forty-six percent of respondents to a survey of over 200 IT decision-makers reported that they had been significantly affected by some form of malware in the past – including ransomware, worms, distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack, advanced persistent threat (APTs such as keyloggers, phishing and zero-day attacks) and adware.
This was despite 88 percent of the companies polled spending over $100,000 a year on data security, with 39 percent spending over $500,000 annually, suggesting that the security hardware and software defenses they have invested in often fail to prevent malware from executing on their systems.
Few of the organizations surveyed rely on a single data security product as a foundation for their cyber defenses. Most supplement endpoint security solutions – typically those from Microsoft (57 percent), McAfee (51 percent) and Symantec (46 percent) – with additional network appliances (82 percent), email appliances (56 percent) and DDoS protection solutions (55 percent).
Data security incidents inevitably prompt IT decision-makers to re-evaluate their existing defenses. The IDG Connect research indicates that 91 percent of U.S. organizations would consider implementing a white list security solution, even one that blocks the occasional good file or results in a false positive, as long as that solution could be proved to deliver superior protection against rogue files containing malware.
U.S. companies show strong preferences on who they trust for recommendations on data security products. Two-thirds (66 percent) consult service providers – typically systems integrators, resellers and distributors – and colleagues. And just over half seek advice from their external peers and specialist security solution test houses, most notably Virus Bulletin and AV Test.
“Ransomware, DDoS and advanced persistent threats like phishing and zero-day attacks are all increasing in volume and intensity,” said Bob Johnson, IDG Connect Principal Analyst. “U.S. companies need to evaluate their current data security infrastructure to determine how and where the risk of their business being disrupted by these attacks can best be minimized.”
Rob Cheng, Chief Executive Officer at PC Pitstop, said: “The security problem is getting consistently worse, the consequences are getting consistently larger and the frequency is growing. It’s time to consider a new architecture—the existing model isn’t working. We believe our approach, using whitelisting instead of blacklisting technology, is the best solution.”
To view the full report go to http://www.idgconnect.com/view_abstract/35910/strong-security-needs-flexible-software-tools?source=connect
To join our discussion on endpoint security, ransomware and whitelisting technology on June 8, visit http://idgtechtalk.tumblr.com/post/144611615124/how-can-you-battle-the-increasingly-serious-and
About the survey
The data points come from a new report, conducted on behalf of PC Pitstop by IDG Connect, called Strong Security Needs Flexible Software Tools. IDG Connect surveyed 211 IT decision-makers working for U.S. companies ranging in size from 250 employees to over 20,000, including CIOs, CTOs and CSOs from a range of vertical sectors.
About PC Pitstop
PC Pitstop was founded with the sole purpose of creating a better way to diagnose common computer problems. Since its inception, the company has evolved into a major security software publisher in the United States, United Kingdom and Japan. Its exclusive whitelisting technology and three-factor authentication allows PC Pitstop to deliver the highest quality of security and IT management to businesses of any size. Its superior endpoint protection protects against ransomware, malware, advanced persistent threats (APTs), zero-day attacks and polymorphic viruses. For more information, visit: www.pcpitstop.com and www.techsentry.com. Follow @PCPitstop, @Tech_Sentry and @PCMatic on Twitter.
About IDG Connect
IDG Connect is the demand generation division of International Data Group (IDG), one of the world’s largest technology media companies. Established in 2006, it utilizes access to 44 million business decision-makers’ details to unite technology marketers with relevant targets from any country in the world. Committed to engaging a disparate global IT audience with truly localized messaging, IDG Connect also publishes market-specific thought leadership papers on behalf of its clients and produces research for B2B marketers worldwide.
