Spam and Malware in Businesses

Spam and malware are primary root causes of computer breaches. Forensics is showing that this is how a network attack starts. An attack that had an average cost of $7.2 million per incident in 2010. As new security statistics regarding spam and malware are discovered, we will post them here.

TED Video: Mikko Hypponen: Fighting viruses, defending the net

Spam and Malware Attacks Destroy Businesses

• Over 200 billion emails are sent every day.
• Employees are receiving 100’s of e-mails a day.
• Employees do not scrutinize every e-mail thoroughly before clicking an attachment or link.
• Spear Phishing is increasing and targeting every employee from the CEO to the college intern.
• IT can deploy anti-virus and malware filters but these only protect against known attacks.
• Spam uses up storage capacity, bandwidth speed and employee productivity.
• Spam and Malware can enter by Internet, e-mail, VoIP, smartphones, social networks, IM, Cloud, etc.
• Cloud is making businesses more vulnerable because IT controlled barriers are disappearing.
• According to Ponemon’s “2010 Global Cost of a Data Breach” report, the average per record compromised
  cost is at $214, or an average of $7.2M per incident.
• 89.1% of emails in 2010 were Spam – Symantec.cloud

Statistics On Spam and Malware

• 41% of the malicious domains that Symantec blocked in Jan 2011 were from new sites.
• Edgewave reported in Feb 2011 there were 49 to 352 new spam campaigns launched every day.
• Websense Security Labs found that 61% of all data attacks in 2010 occurred over the web and email.
• From Osterman Research report “Messaging and Web Security Market Trends, 2010-2013” Web surfing
  accounts for 62%, e-mail 43%, 12% web apps and 4% IM of successful infiltration into a company’s networks.
• Of those surveyed, 53% believe Spam and 74% believe Malware will be a bigger problem by YE2011- Osterman Research report “Messaging and Web Security Market Trends, 2010-2013”
• McAfee reported the identification of 60,000 new malware samples per day in 2010. A 275% increase
  over three years.
• A Criminal organization that operates Koobface has nearly 22,000 Facebook accounts (935,000 friends),
  over 350,000 Blogger accounts,  and over 520,000 Google accounts as of late 2010.
• In 2010, 31% of data breaches were from malicious attacks. Compared to 24% in 2009, 12% in 2008.
  - Ponemon Institute, 2011