April 12, 2005 - (HOSTSEARCH.COM) - In web hosting security news, a North American enterprise IT survey released today, commissioned by network security company Trend Micro, found that 78 percent of enterprise IT managers have identified spyware as among their top three IT priorities for 2005. The survey, which queried North American IT decision makers, reveals that 87 percent of companies believe the spyware problem will get worse before it gets better. Sixty-five percent believe that an integrated security solution for combating spyware is preferable to a stand-alone anti-spyware product and 45 percent of small enterprises (<500 employees) and 57 percent of large enterprises (>500 employees) believe anti-spyware protection is most effectively deployed at the gateway -- yet only 15 percent of small enterprises and 26 percent of large enterprises currently have anti-spyware deployed at the gateway.
To combat the threat of spyware in businesses, Trend Micro today announced the launch of two anti-spyware suites with enhanced spyware-blocking and cleanup capabilities to detect and stop unwanted spyware, adware, remote-access tools, dialers, and password-cracking applications through coordinated security at the gateway, server and client.
Key findings of the Trend Micro/TechRepublic survey include:
-- 93 percent of companies have seen an increase in the amount of spyware on their networks in the past three months
-- 90 percent of companies report lowered computer performance as their greatest spyware-related concern
-- 95 percent of companies report that adware is frequently found within their organization
-- 74 percent said that the loss of confidential personal or corporate information was a primary spyware concern
-- 72 percent already have an anti-spyware solution deployed -- with 63 percent of those being stand-alone solutions and 90 percent being deployed at the desktop
-- 78 percent of enterprise IT managers have identified spyware as among their top three IT priorities for 2005
-- 87 percent of companies believe the spyware problem will get worse before it gets better
-- 65 percent of IT decision makers believe an integrated security solution is preferable to a stand-alone anti-spyware product
-- 45 percent of small enterprises and 57 percent of large enterprises believe anti-spyware is most effectively deployed at the gateway
-- 15 percent of small enterprises and 26 percent of large enterprises have anti-spyware deployed at the gateway
-- Large enterprises are less protected against spyware than smaller enterprises. Only 54 percent of large enterprises have an anti-spyware solution deployed as compared to 80 percent of small enterprises
"This survey validates Trend Micro's position that the best anti-spyware protection -- like the best anti-virus protection -- is integrated and deployed across multiple security layers, centrally managed through our Enterprise Protection Strategy," said Dan Glessner, Senior Director of Marketing, Enterprise at Trend Micro. "An integrated solution brings enterprises the most comprehensive anti-spyware solution by enabling them to block spyware before it enters the network, prevent spyware from installing on the client, block 'phone home' attempts at the gateway and provide multiple cleanup options."
Survey Methodology:
The nationwide survey was conducted online by TechRepublic during March 2005. More than 500 technology professionals who identified themselves as anti-spyware purchase influencers or decision-makers responded to the survey.
