Forty-Six Percent of SMBs Have Been Infected by Internet Threats, According to Latest Panda Security Survey

ORLANDO, Fla., Aug. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Panda Security, the Cloud Security Company, today announced the results of the United States edition of its second annual International Barometer of Security at small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). The study, which surveyed nearly 10,000 SMBs around the globe and more than 1,500 in the United States, revealed that 46 percent of U.S. SMBs have fallen victim to cybercrime, up two percent from last year's survey.

The 2010 survey revealed there has been little to no improvement from last year in SMBs using industry standard protection methods. Thirty-one percent of businesses are operating without anti-spam, 23 percent have no anti-spyware and 15 percent have no firewall.

"Many SMBs simply don't have the resources in terms of budget, time and human capital to devote to protecting their computers and sensitive data," said Sean-Paul Correll, threat researcher at PandaLabs. "The study results are proof that IT service providers and vendors have an important role to play in educating small businesses on threats, and helping them determine the best way to protect themselves."

Additional findings from the study related to businesses' investment in security and malware infection rates include the following:  

Investment in Security

• Security budgets remain about the same as last year, although when asked if they had anyone dedicated to security management, only 63 percent of companies in the U.S. confirmed they had;
• Thirteen percent of U.S. SMBs are operating without security systems in place at all. Fifty-seven percent of this group reported the reason for lacking security was that it is viewed as not important or necessary;  
• Of the companies that do have protection in place, 36 percent of U.S. SMBs said they were using free solutions that are designed for home users. Ninety-seven percent said they have installed an anti-virus solution on their computers. However, 12 percent admitted these systems were out of date;
• The most widely used security solutions are anti-virus and firewall products, while anti-spam solutions are not extensively implemented.

"Even though we highly recommend free security software such as Panda's Cloud Antivirus to consumers, the free software available on the market is not sufficient to secure even smaller corporate networks from all sides," said Correll. "SMBs should invest in security solutions that protect their servers and network communications, and include advanced security features such as centralized and policy-based management."

Infections

• The infection ratio at U.S. companies has slightly increased since last year (46 percent in 2010 compared to 44 percent in 2009). It has dropped in Europe (49 percent in 2010 compared to 58 percent in 2009);
• U.S. SMBs named the Internet and USBs/external memory devices as the top methods for computer infections to enter the company (32 percent). E-mail (21 percent) and downloads/P2P (14 percent) were the other popular infection points;
• Viruses are the most popular threat SMBs are encountering (45 percent), followed by spyware (23 percent).

Panda Security's SMB solutions provide up-to-the-minute protection against known and unknown threats. Recognizing that SMBs have limited in-house resources and budgets for IT security, Panda's products utilize its proven cloud computing and security-as-a-service capabilities to minimize investments in overall management and IT infrastructure. To learn more about Panda's full set of security solutions for SMBs, please visit http://cloudprotection.pandasecurity.com/.

A comprehensive report on the study's results is available at: http://press.pandasecurity.com/usa/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/2nd-Annual-Barometer-US-Edition.pdf.

About Panda Security

Founded in 1990, Panda Security is the world's leading provider of cloud-based security solutions with products available in more than 23 languages and millions of users located in 195 countries around the world. Panda Security was the first IT security company to harness the power of cloud computing with its Collective Intelligence technology. This innovative security model can automatically analyze and classify thousands of new malware samples per day, guaranteeing corporate customers and home users the most effective protection against Internet threats with minimum impact on PC performance. Panda Security has 56 offices throughout the globe with U.S. headquarters in Florida and European headquarters in Spain.

For more information, visit http://www.pandasecurity.com/usa/ .

Survey Timeframe: The International Barometer of Security at SMBs survey was conducted by Panda Security between April and June 2010 among non-users of Panda solutions.

Participants: The survey consisted of companies with between 2 and 1,000 computers. 1,532 in the United States participated in the survey, and nearly 10,000 in total across the U.S., Europe, Latin America and North America.

Methodology: The survey was carried out online through prior invitation via e-mail.

Sample error: Sampling error calculation has been based on p=q=0.5 for a confidence level of 95%.

SOURCE Panda Security