Virus attacks are becoming increasingly frequent and obtrusive, and the traditional reactive approach to anti-virus (AV) needs to be changed, said Maros Mozola, VP of AV solution NOD32.
Speaking at the Futurex conference in Sandton yesterday, Mozola said the market situation reflected the need for a more proactive approach to AV.
According to research by global research company PricewaterhouseCoopers, AV use in large businesses in Britain has increased from 67% in 2002 to 99% currently, but in the same period the number of companies affected by viruses increased considerably.
"This indicates there`s a need to create a different strategy to combat viruses," said Mozola.
"Most AV makers take a reactive approach. They find the virus, make a patch, and publish it." Mozola said the problem was that companies were left vulnerable while this process was taking place. "This usually takes around eight hours to accomplish."
Mozola added that tackling AV successfully would require more than software alone. "AV is just one patch of a whole system, it`s much broader than that."
One of the main problems is that users are often responsible for virus outbreaks without even knowing it. Mozola said this happens because their AV solution is not kept up to date. Some solutions have implemented an auto-update function in their software, but they often switch this off. "This may be because it is cumbersome, or they simply don`t appreciate the risks out there," said Mozola.
Erik van Vlaanderen, executive chairman of 4D Digital Security, the local distributor of NOD32, said local business was vulnerable to virus attacks. "We are part of the international market, and as such we import all the viruses out there."
The proactive approach to AV would involve using new technology like 'sandboxing` and 'heuristics` to detect new viruses, Mozola said. "These technologies function like artificial intelligence: they seek out actions used by viruses, and will deal with it the way you programmed it to. More importantly, you would not even need to have the latest updates installed."
This would allow businesses to stop most viruses at the source, said Mozola. "It is always a problem to cure sick patients; it would be better to develop their immunity. This approach would be like increasing the immunity of the PC."
As virus awareness increases, viruses will probably spread on different platforms, he noted. "When people become more educated, we will probably begin to see viruses on systems we haven`t seen before." He added that it was unlikely viruses would spread through personal digital assistants.
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