SANTA CLARA, Calif., July 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- McAfee, Inc. (NYSE: MFE), the global leader in Intrusion Prevention and Security Risk Management, today announced a significant milestone in the growth of malicious threats faced by businesses and individual users. McAfee(R) Avert(R) Labs, which added the 100,000th threat to its database in September 2004, officially released protection this week for the 200,000th threat in its database-demonstrating a 60% decrease in the amount of time it took to double the number of threats in the database since September 2004.
"It's remarkable to note that it took 18 years for our database to reach 100,000 malicious threats -- and just under two years to double to 200,000," said Stuart McClure, senior vice president, global research and threats at McAfee. "Although security awareness continues to improve, hackers and malicious code authors are releasing threats faster than ever before, with approximately 200% more malicious threats per day than two years ago."
While bots are still the leading cause of this dramatic growth, exploits and downloaders are a close second. Email threats, which made up a large percentage of the number of threats in 2004, saw significantly smaller growth over the last two years when compared to other categories of malware.
In 2004, McAfee added 27,340 new threats to its database. In 2005, it added 56,880 new threats. Since January 1, 2006, McAfee has added approximately 32,000 new threats to its database and is on track to exceed 60,000 new threats by the end of this year. Given current trends, McAfee expects the 400,000th threat to be identified in less than two years. McAfee recommends that to stay protected, both enterprises and consumers constantly stay updated with the latest DATs, install the latest patches, and implement a multi-layered approach to detecting and blocking attacks.
For more information on this subject, including a specific breakdown of growth rates by type of threat, or to learn more about cutting-edge security research and opinions, please visit the McAfee Avert Labs Security Blog at
http://www.avertlabs.com/research/blog/?p=49.
McAfee Avert Labs maintains one of the top-ranked security threat and research organizations in the world, employing researchers in seventeen cities and twelve countries around the globe. McAfee Avert Labs combine world-class malicious code and anti-virus research with intrusion prevention and vulnerability research expertise.
McAfee maakt vandaag de resultaten bekend van een onderzoek waaruit blijkt dat bedreigingen nu in een recordtijd zijn verdubbeld bij zowel zakelijke gebruikers als privégebruikers. McAfee AVERT heeft de afgelopen jaren gewerkt aan een database met malifide bedreigingen. Het heeft 18 jaar geduurd voordat het aantal van 100,000 werd bereikt. Dit aantal is nu echter in minder dan twee jaar verdubbeld naar 200,000.
McAfee, Inc. Reports Security Threats Doubled in Record Time McAfee, Inc., headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and the global leader in Intrusion Prevention and Security Risk Management, delivers proactive and proven solutions and services that secure systems and networks around the world. With its unmatched security expertise and commitment to innovation, McAfee empowers home users, businesses, the public sector, and service providers with the ability to block attacks, prevent disruptions, and continuously track and improve their security.
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