Global threat report on Web filtering, spyware and viruses

ScanSafe has released its latest Global Threat Report on Web filtering, spyware and viruses. The report is based on real-time analysis of more than five billion Web requests processed by the company in June and represents the largest analysis of Web security threats based on real-world Web traffic. According to the ScanSafe Threat Centre, Web viruses increased 13 per cent in June and the company blocked more than 300 unique Web viruses during the month.

Zero-hour threats represent one of the most significant security threats to corporate networks today because they go undetected by the vast majority of security technologies, which rely largely on signatures or a static database of URLs to identify threats. In June, 12 per cent of all Web viruses blocked by ScanSafe were detected by Outbreak IntelligenceTM, the company’s proprietary heuristics technology that provides real-time scanning and analysis of Web threats, including zero-hour threats—threats that appear before an anti-virus signature is made available.

ScanSafe reported a surge in intercepts of the Exploit.JS.CVE-2005-1790.j (aka Troj/Onladv-A), a downloader Trojan that affects Microsoft Windows. Exploit.JS.CVE-2005-1790.j exploits the ONLOAD vulnerability associated with certain versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer to download a file from a remote Website and execute it.

URL Blocks Increase 16 per cent in June; Pornography and Search Engines Top List of Restricted Websites Employees Attempt to Access

ScanSafe reported a 16 per cent increase in URL blocks in June and found that 60 per cent of companies using its Web Filtering Service had users that attempted, unsuccessfully, to access URLs known to contain pornographic content. Similarly, 58 per cent of users attempted to access restricted search engine sites.

The ScanSafe Threat Centre monitors the global state of Web traffic, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Combining technology as well as analysis from threat technicians, the ScanSafe Threat Centre processes more than five billion Web requests each month from 20 countries around the world and provides unparalleled insight into real-time Web threats and usage.