Trend Micro wants enterprise to re-think security
When 60 Minutes reports on looming threat of the Conficker worm, people listen. But when the IT departments and security software types caution users about what they download or the sites they visit, the warnings often fall on deaf ears.
It used to be that the big viruses and worms grabbed headlines. Aside from this Conficker worm, we don't really see many big virus stories these days. But that doesn't mean that they're not still out there, causing headaches for companies, users and the IT department
Trend Micro, as part of an announcement of a new Endpoint Security Platform this week, said that one of the biggest security challenges facing a company is managing the complexity of the security system itself - from managing various platforms and devices to installing updates. The company's announcements this week of a new platform, as well as a new software suite, are part of the company's greater effort to being immediate, automated protection through the cloud. In a statement, the company said:
Most endpoint security takes too long to deploy across all clients and servers because it uses the traditional and ineffective method of frequent signature file updates to defend against the increasing volume of threats. Lengthy updates create a dangerous security latency, overburden the endpoints and impact user productivity.
Trend Micro points to its ability to offer "real-time intelligence" on the safety of files before they're opened by either sending a query to an in-the-cloud database or an updated on-site database.
The company, in making its case, refers back to the good ol' days when worms and viruses grabbed big headlines, giving the writer of the malware 15 minutes of fame. But malware is no longer about attention; it's about money.
If I'm an Internet bad guy who's designed some sort of malware and is hoping to spread it across a network of computers so I can use them to steal identities or spread spam, I'm probably want to stay off the radar and in the background.
I can't imagine that bank robbers want to be chased down by news helicopters and the entire police force. Instead, I'm sure they'd rather walk quietly out of the bank and get lost in a crowd before the security guard even realizes the bank has been robbed.
In the case of Trend Micro, the company is basically promising to be the security guard who sees the bank robber coming and locks the doors before he can get inside.