Corporations Using Web-Based Applications Expose Themselves to Malware

A new research by Internet security company Webroot has discovered that 85% of malicious software spread via Web applications, resulting in an increasing level of threat to organizations as employees do more and more of online video watching, social networking, and personal e-mailing during work hours.

Webroot also discovered that business organizations are not efficiently safeguarding themselves against Web-borne spyware, viruses and employee activity that results in security breaches, leakage of confidential information and release of valuable intellectual property.

Also, while organizations rely on Web based applications for execution of critical functions such as research and development, advertisement campaigns and customer support, IT experts are not adequately aware about the Web 2.0 world, or the new threats arising from it.

Meanwhile, the Webroot survey reveals that only 15% of responding enterprises reported strict enforcement of internet usage policies to lessen the vulnerabilities of their organizations. However, security industry research indicates that 49% of enterprises allow their employees to access social networking Websites to any extent; thereby, inviting risks, as the sites do not look for potential malware in their content.

Further, over 85% of corporations continue to depend solely on security for the desktops, which is risky, as these defenses do not monitor for malicious content in incoming Web traffic.

Also, the survey indicates that malware on the Web has increased 500% during the past twelve months from August 2007 to July 2008, and hackers are choosing it as an important tool. Furthermore, more than 25% of businesses that answered Webroot's survey reported that one or the other Web-based threat had compromised their data. 33% of respondents said that they believed that employees surfing on the Internet during work to access Web-based e-mail, video sites and social networks had led to some form of security breach.

Meanwhile, according to Mike Irwin, COO, Webroot, businesses and employees regularly do blogging, use Wikis and other types of online sources for information that is vulnerable to hackers' attacks and malware infections since they involve content from any number of anonymous contributors and not just one reliable source, as reported by BusinessWire on September 22, 2008.

Related article: Corporate End Users Disdainful to IT Security

» SPAMfighter News - 30-09-2008

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