U.S. Small Businesses Vulnerable to Cyber Attacks, Says VirnetX Research Director

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif., Feb. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- "U.S. small business executives are vulnerable to cyber attacks and will see a huge surge in the number of data breaches unless measures are immediately taken to secure critical infrastructure," stated Dr. Victor Larson, Director of Research and Development with VirnetX Holding Corporation (NYSE Amex: VHC) (www.virnetx.com), a California-based secure real-time communications company with patented technologies derived from a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) security project.

According to Dr. Larson, "Small businesses need to be concerned about their information technology security infrastructure.  The National Cyber Security Alliance (www.staysafeonline.org) recently confirmed that the vast majority of small businesses lack focus and awareness of the growing cyber attack threat.  The Alliance conducted a National Small Business Cybersecurity Study which reported that only 53% of small businesses review their computer network systems on a weekly basis to ensure that anti-spyware, firewalls, anti-virus and operating systems are up-to-date and 11% never check them.  This makes the 20 million small businesses in the U.S. potentially vulnerable to a devastating cyber attack."

Dr. Larson also stated, "Small businesses today have shifted from paper records to electronically stored information.  This so-called digitalization process has helped small businesses attain a dramatically more efficient way of doing business.  On the other hand, this has also opened new doors for cyber criminals to penetrate a small businesses' data system.  This trend could result in massive financial and retail security fraud and breaches over the next decade."

"Criminals will go anywhere the money goes," said the VirnetX Research Director. "Criminals will find new avenues to get malicious software onto a small business' computer systems.  There will be attempts to embed malicious software into the downloads of software from reputable vendors.  If software isn't authenticated, then attempts will be made to intercept software being downloaded and replace it with malicious versions.  This is a wake-up call for small businesses because security issues with the Internet will cause dramatic loss of revenue for these entrepreneurial enterprises in the years ahead."

About VirnetX

VirnetX Holding Corporation, based in Scotts Valley, CA, is engaged in commercializing its patent portfolio by developing a licensing program, as well as developing software products designed to create a secure environment for real-time communications such as instant messaging and Voice over Internet Protocol.  The Company's patent portfolio includes over 48 U.S. and international patents and pending applications that pertain to LTE/4G security specifications and provide the foundation for the Company's unique GABRIEL Connection Technology. For more information, please visit www.virnetx.com

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SOURCE VirnetX Holding Corporation