Growth of broadband spurs virus attacks in India

Pragati Simlote

NEW DELHI: Security experts consider the need for security solutions in India

is on the rise with the growth of broadband the country and increasing traffic

in cyberspace.

The number of viruses is increasing everyday. At present, there are a total

of 181,000 viruses and around 150 new viruses are added everyday. Besides the PC

market, virus writers are now looking at the mobile market also.

In a 2005 Websense survey, 74 per cent of IT managers across India had said

their employees have received phishing attacks via e-mail or instant messaging

on their office PCs.

Thirty-two per cent of employees surveyed admitted to have given out

confidential data as a result of phishing attacks.

According to Patrik Runald, senior security specialist at F-Secure Security

Response Lab, “One big problem that India would face in future is phishing.

This is definitely going to increase in India as more and more people get online

and more and more people get broadband connection and use online banking. The US

phishing market is saturated now as most people have been hit by phishing scams

one-two times. So they are looking at new markets and India is one such

potential market for them.”

Finland-based anti-virus and anti-intrusion software provider F-Secure's

target segments include enterprises, SMBs and consumers. The company has been in

India since the last eight years through its distributors, set up its fully

owned Indian subsidiary, F-Secure Pvt. Ltd, in 2005.

The company currently has tied up with ISPs Reliance Communication Venture

Ltd and Exattnet, and has plans to tie up with more service providers to sell

solutions.

Speaking on the threats, Runald said, “Voice over Internet protocol (VOIP),

Wireless local area network (WLAN), Skype, etc. are some of the areas vulnerable

to future virus attacks. VOIP is definitely one thing that we are looking at. I

think one of the biggest problems with VOIP would be the phishing scams. As more

and more people start using VOIP the problem is going to increase. Applications

like Skype, which are widely used, would be a potential target for viruses but

we haven't seen anything as yet. In future, this could be a big thing.”

Runald added, “Another trend that is catching up is that of mobile viruses.

Currently, 205 mobile viruses are there. The numbers are small, but it is rising

rapidly. Mobile viruses are more prevalent in Asia as compared to Europe.”

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