[OPLIN 4cast] OPLIN 4cast #385: More than antivirus

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OPLIN 4Cast

OPLIN 4cast #385: More than antivirus
May 14th, 2014

biohazard symbolSymantec, the company that launched the popular Norton 
Antivirus product in 1991, grabbed IT headlines last week when several 
company officials declared that antivirus is "dead." While cynics point 
out that this could just be a clever way for Symantec to market their 
other products, as with any good marketing campaign there is an element 
of truth here. There is practically unanimous agreement in the 
cyber-protection industry that a simple antivirus product is 
insufficient protection these days, and a multifaceted approach to 
computer security is necessary.

  * Symantec partners to fend off zero-day attacks
    <http://www.networkworld.com/news/2014/050514-taking-aim-at-fending-281282.html>
    (Network World/Ellen Messmer) "Symantec is the global leader in
    endpoint anti-malware software, but [director of product marketing
    Piero] DePaoli doesn't mince words when he says the era of relying
    on signature-based antivirus is gone for good. 'Core A/V is dead. It
    is dead,' DePaoli says without reservation. A lot of the threats
    coming in today are unknown, such as zero-day exploits. Symantec's
    endpoint security products years ago evolved to the point where
    today about half of threats it identifies and blocks aren't related
    to signature-based A/V at all but are caught through other means
    such as behavioral or reputational analysis."
  * Outmaneuvered at their own game, antivirus makers struggle to adapt
    <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/01/technology/antivirus-makers-work-on-software-to-catch-malware-more-effectively.html>
    (New York Times/Nicole Perlroth) "In 2000, there were fewer than a
    million new strains of malware, most of them the work of amateurs.
    By 2010, there were 49 million new strains, according to AV-Test, a
    German research institute that tests antivirus products. The
    antivirus industry has grown as well, but experts say it is falling
    behind. By the time its products are able to block new viruses, it
    is often too late."
  * Symantec says antivirus losing fight against cyberattacks, plotting
    new strategy
    <http://www.techtimes.com/articles/6665/20140508/symantec-says-antivirus-losing-fight-against-cyberattacks-plotting-new-strategy.htm>
    (Tech Times/Vamien McKalin) "After all, an Anti-virus software can
    only manage to capture around 45 percent of all security risks.
    That's a real issue and goes to show how much hackers are ahead in
    this game of cat and mouse. Another reason for the change of action
    is because several malwares only live on your computer for an hour."
  * Kaspersky weighs in on antivirus death debate
    <http://channelnomics.com/2014/05/08/kaspersky-weighs-antivirus-death-debate>
    (Channelnomics/Doug Woodburn) "Symantec claimed that AV now catches
    just 45 percent of cyberattacks, but [Kaspersky senior security
    researcher Costin] Raiu said it was senseless to assess the issue in
    these terms. Traditional AV has been replaced by a more
    sophisticated bundle of technologies combining heuristics, sandbox
    analyzers, cloud reputation and white-listing technologies, Raiu
    added. 'Every major player today has already adapted to these
    trends. Actually, those who didn't adapt simply disappeared,' he said."

*/Money fact:/*

The Wall Street Journal points out 
<http://online.wsj.com/news/article_email/SB10001424052702303417104579542140235850578-lMyQjAxMTA0MDAwNTEwNDUyWj> 
that Symantec needs to be doing something different, because the company 
is reporting declining revenues and has fired two CEOs in the past two 
years.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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