| End-user Encounters with Security Threats Increasing in Smaller Organizations |
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| In: Asian Channels October 2005 | |
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The results of a study by Trend Micro, Inc a provider of antivirus and Internet content security shows that end users are encountering malware more often, particularly in smaller companies. The findings, especially disquieting for resource-strapped organizations with little or no IT support, underscore the need to raise the priority of security measures and ensure automated multi-threat protection from new and emerging threats. The study also reveals that different threats cause varying degrees of concern around the world. For example, in Japan, respondents expressed their concern regarding spam. Many said anti-spam protection was insufficient. This was especially the case for Japanese end users from small- and medium-sized organizations, where about 3 out of 4 workers felt spam protection was poor. Similarly, 47 percent of end users surveyed in German small and medium businesses said they noticed growing incidents of spam in the past three months. In addition, 57 percent of respondents believed that phishing attacks -- often launched via spam -- had increased within the same timeframe. Overall, the study indicated that organizations lacking IT departments are clearly experiencing growing encounters with security threats – from spam to spyware to phishing. For respondents from small and medium businesses that have IT support, 38 percent in the United States, 30 percent in Japan, and 44 percent in Germany said they had contacted IT about a security concern or breach within the past three months. These findings spotlight the challenge smaller organizations face in scaling IT resources to provide technical advice, conduct system scans, clean machines manually, deploy patches and security policies, and educate staff in order to enable a secure working environment. “Smaller businesses face a dilemma,” says Steve Quane, general manager of Trend Micro’s small and medium business operations. “Encounters with security threats are rising faster in smaller organizations, but these same organizations are restricted by time, cost, and available resources. Whether they have an IT organization or not, these businesses need solutions that make their lives easier, where security protection and threat prevention can be automated. Assessing the efficiency and cost of ownership of current security measures – measures that should protect all layers of a network against unpredictable threats -- will help businesses to stay a step ahead of malicious attacks.” Key findings include:
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