Oct 6, 2013

Kaspersky Lab now detects 200,000 new malware

According to the cloud-based Kaspersky Security Network, about 200,000 new malware samples emerge every day, compared to 125,000 just a year ago. Cybercriminals make millions of dollars by using malware, including sophisticated Trojans and phishing scams that hijack online bank accounts and social networking profiles.

Kaspersky data show at least 7.5 million of its customers worldwide were targeted by phishing attacks between April 2012 and May 2013. But since the company only tracks its customers, the total number of Internet users worldwide who were targeted by phishing attacks could easily swell to hundreds of millions.

These scams, commonly sent through carefully crafted email designed to appear legitimate, attempted to steal online banking credentials and other critical financial details.

“The online threats to our customers’ financial data and personal information are real, they’re here and they continue to evolve really fast,” says Jimmy Fong, Kaspersky Lab Southeast Asia Channel Sales Director.

A consumer survey conducted by B2B International in July this year showed 62 percent of Internet users experienced at least one attack related to online banking, shopping or payment services during the last 12 months.

While there were instances where fraud was discovered after the fact, 41 percent of these victims still failed to recover their money. Various industry sources estimate the number of people worldwide that regularly use online banking at approximately 700 million.

In the case of the Philippines, there is a growing inclination of Filipinos to do online transactions over the traditional payment system. The country currently has 7-million-strong active credit card user base.

“I see that making online transactions for banking and shopping is encouraged here. Users do it even through mobile devices now, albeit slowly,” says Bryan Sat, Kaspersky Lab Business Development Manager.

Sat says that while the trend offers a lot of convenience and flexibility, it risks users to be victims of online fraud.

“Their social networking profile might be prone to hijacking. There may not be a grand incident of a phishing scam or online fraud case yet in the Philippines, but there is no reason to let our guards down,” warned Sat.

In the fight against modern cybercrime, security solutions face a clearly-defined challenge: how to prevent these financial losses.

The new versions of Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2014 and Kaspersky Internet Security 2014 were specially developed with that requirement in mind, according to the Kaspersky team, “bringing a host of new features that ensure the highest levels of security for users’ PCs and their digital valuables.”

Both solutions feature the ZETA Shield antivirus technology, which performs an in-depth scan of files and applications running on the computer to identify malware that may hide deep within individual components of each program.

Other features also include the (i) automatic exploit prevention technology, which scans programs for behavior typically found in exploits; (ii) the anti-blocker, which removes familiar threats like Trojan ransomware; and (iii) parental control capabilities, which allows parents to determine when and how long children can use the computer, which applications can or cannot be launched, and what information – such as credit card numbers and home addresses – should be blocked from being shared on social networks.

Kaspersky Lab’s Safe Money technology – first introduced in the previous version of Kaspersky Internet Security – also provides additional layer of reliable protection for online financial operations. For more info, visit www.kaspersky.com.

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