Security software alone not enough to beat Internet threats, says CA

Chicago (IL) - The growth of botnets has prompted several voices to claim that the war against this threat already has been lost. However, security software developer CA says the war "is far from over." It can be won, we were told, but Internet users will have to learn websmarts and be cautious about a false sense of security that is created by antivirus software - and Windows Vista.

There are very few days on which there are no news about new security holes in software and new security threats that are looking for new victims. It’s something many of us got used to and a circumstance we have learned to live with. We have learned that being careful about emails from senders we don’t know and at least virus protection has become a standard part of the equipment of many PCs.

Security has become a dominating feature of new software - security software itself is getting more sophisticated, battling more threats, not just viruses, than ever and even Microsoft touts the new Windows Vista as the "most secure Windows ever", thanks to its new Firewall and integrated "Windows Defender". But Brian Grayek, vice president of threat content development at CA, believes that such claims can lure users into a false sense of security and actually create new dangers.

In a conversation with TG Daily, he mentioned that "security isn’t a destination issue, it’s a journey," hinting that there is no single solution to provide a complete protection from Internet threats. Even if security software has become more sophisticated and there are programs that are largely automated, the battle against Internet remains a cat-and-mouse chase, good against evil. Just like in everyday life that requires a certain sense of streetsmarts, Internet users would need certain websmarts to protect them from malicious attacks, he said. Instead of being a "passive" user who installs security software and then forgets about it, more users need to become proactive and make sure that their system has all updates and learn about existing threats. According to Grayek, user education is key to turn passive users into proactive users.

In terms of the security provided by Windows Vista, he mentioned that it would be dangerous to rely on the increased security of the software alone. "That would be like saying ’I’ve just built the most secure in the world, so I do not need a security system’," he said. He stated that CA believes that major security flaws in Vista will be found "within a year." The fact that additional security software and education of users is required to protect computers would not be changed with Vista, he said.

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Botnets are typically a way to remotely control loosely linked PCs to attack other PCs in groups, to send spam or distribute viruses and worms. CA says that it is currently aware of "at least three groups with more than three million bots" - hijacked PCs of unsuspecting users. The botnet war is getting more elaborate as "botnet herders" - people who control groups of bots - begin protecting their bots from other herders and the financial incentive to use botnets gets more attractive. Grayek quoted a study that claimed that one bot could be worth 6.1 cents when sending spam.