Study Reveals End-user Encounters With Security Threats Increasing in Smaller Organizations
Tokyo, Japan – October 19, 2005 – Trend Micro, Inc (TSE:4704, NASDAQ: TMIC), a leader in antivirus and Internet content security, today released findings from a study that reveals 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.
According to the study by Trend Micro, different threats cause varying degrees of concern around the world. For example, spyware is much more likely to be encountered by U.S. end-users than those in Germany and Japan, particularly in smaller organizations. Of those surveyed, 46 percent of respondents from small- and medium-sized U.S. organizations encountered spyware within three months leading up to the study.
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,” said 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:
In Japan, 1 out of every 3 respondents working in SMB organizations believe that spyware encounters have increased in the past three months.
2 out of every 5 responses from U.S. based workers (SMB, Enterprise) indicate that phishing encounters have increased in the past three months.
Of those surveyed, only about 54 percent of small and medium-sized businesses in U.S., 56 percent in Germany and just 36 percent in Japan have an IT department
Responses indicate that German end users are also more likely than users elsewhere to request security guidance from their IT department.
Survey Methodology:
The survey was conducted online in July 2005. More than 1,200 corporate end users from business organizations in the United States, Germany, and Japan responded to the survey. Companies classified as small- to medium-sized for this study comprised less than 500 employees in Germany and the United States and less than 250 in Japan.
About Trend Micro, Inc.
Trend Micro, Inc., is a leader in network antivirus and Internet content security software and services. The Tokyo-based corporation has business units worldwide. Trend Micro products are sold through corporate and value-added resellers and managed service providers. For additional information and evaluation copies of all Trend Micro products, visit our Web site, www.trendmicro.com