Malware boom puts pressure on second-tier AV labs
Yesterday, October 03, 2007,
Over the first six months of 2007, anti-virus applications market leader Symantec found a total of 212,101 new malware variants, an astonishing 185 percent increase over the second half of 2006, totaling an average of well over 1100 unique samples arriving per day.
With the volume of malware attacks growing so rapidly, the pressure on AV research labs to find and defend against new threats to keep their products up to date and customers ahead of the curve has never been greater.
Based on the sheer number of threats, and the sprawl of massive research operations such as Symantec's 40,000 sensor-strong Global Intelligence Network, some experts maintain that only a few of the largest labs will be able to compete in the long run.
Beyond Symantec and its biggest rivals -- including McAfee, Microsoft, and Trend Micro -- it will be unlikely that additional AV researchers and technology vendors will be able to remain relevant, said Neil MacDonald, a longtime security industry analyst with Gartner.
http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/...-claims_1.html