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Malicious software could infect 10m PCs

As many as ten million PCs around the world could be infected with malware designed to allow thieves to commit ID theft, it has been claimed.

Some 67 million people tried out anti-virus vendor Panda Security's ActiveScan test last year.

The company revealed that just over one per cent of these were infected with trojan programs, meaning that around ten million PCs around the world could be affected.

Spokesman Carlos Zevallos told IT World that the report was "sobering".

"We don't want it to seem that it is a hopeless battle [but] all businesses innovate and crimeware is a business," he pointed out.

The firm regards ID theft via trojan programs as a serious and growing threat, particularly those designed to obtain financial information, many of which are now originating in Brazil and Korea.

Writing on USA Today's Technology Live blog last month, Bryon Acohido claimed that the "latest, greatest banking trojans invariably spawn in Brazil" before spreading around the globe.

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