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Failing to protect against malware is 'dangerous'

IT professionals who fail to protect their network equipment from malware are taking an unnecessary risk.

According to Peter Tippett, vice president of innovation and technology at Verizon Business, malware is responsible for 38 per cent of all security breaches so failing to take precautions, such as installing anti-virus software, is an elementary error.

However, writing for PC World, Mr Tippett said that malware is often customised for individual attacks and can go undetected.

He said a good way for IT administrators to detect malware that has slipped through the net is to run host-based intrusion-detection system software on every server.

Another way is to lock down servers so that no new software can be installed by people without privileges.

"Network managers hate to do that because they might want to add new software later," Tippett said.

"I tell them to just unlock the lock, install the new software, and then lock it up again," he added.

According to Symantec's MessageLabs, the amount of malware distributed through instant messaging services is on the increase.

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