PandaLabs: Record-Breaking 5 Million New Threats In Third Quarter Of 2009

PRESS RELEASE

GLENDALE, Calif., Oct. 1 /PRNewswire/ --Panda Security,the Cloud Security Company, today announced that PandaLabs, Panda Security's laboratory for detecting and analyzing malware, released the findings from its third quarterly report of 2009 detailing cyber-threat activity and revealed that Trojans accounted for 71 percent of all new malware between July and September 2009. The report can be downloaded from http://www.pandasecurity.com/homeusers/security-info/tools/reports/.

The most significant finding from the third quarter is that hackers broke all records when it came to creating new threats. Over the past three months, PandaLabs recorded five million new strains of malware, most of which comprised of banker Trojans, although adware and spyware also increased. For a graphical representation of the malware detected, please visit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/panda_security/3968713973/

"We currently receive approximately 50,000 new samples of malware every day, compared to 37,000 just a few months ago. There is no reason to believe that the situation will improve in the coming months," explains Luis Corrons, Technical Director of PandaLabs.

The number of computers infected has also increased 15 percent when compared to the previous quarter. In more than 37 percent of cases, the culprits were Trojans, and adware was responsible for 18.68 percent of all infections. This category in particular has been expanding primarily because of the widespread proliferation of fake antivirus programs or rogueware. For a graphical representation of malware distribution, please visit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/panda_security/3969486118/

This third quarter report also notes the trends analyzed over the last quarter. PandaLabs has detected a major growth in the distribution of malware through spam, social networks and search engine optimization techniques, which draw users to spoof Web pages where malware is downloaded. These methods for propagating malware often use social engineering, exploiting a range of current issues such as swine flu, Independence Day, forest fires or Presidential speeches by Barack Obama.

About PandaLabs

Since 1990, its mission has been to detect and eliminate new threats as rapidly as possible to offer our clients maximum security. To do so, PandaLabs has an innovative automated system that analyzes and classifies thousands of new samples a day and returns automatic verdicts (malware or goodware). This system is the basis of collective intelligence, Panda Security's new security model which can even detect malware that has evaded other security solutions.

Currently, 99.4 percent of malware detected by PandaLabs is analyzed through this system of collective intelligence. This is complemented through the work of several teams, each specialized in a specific type of malware (viruses, worms, Trojans, spyware, phishing, spam, etc), who work 24/7 to provide global coverage. This translates into more secure, simpler and more resource-friendly solutions for clients.

More information is available in the PandaLabs blog: http://www.pandalabs.com.

Media Contacts: Shannon Walsh Bateman Group for Panda Security +1 (415) 269-0849 [email protected]