Antivirus software has played a major part in helping consumers and businesses keep their data safe by blocking cyber-attacks over a number of years.
Within recent years, hackers have started to develop more sophisticated methods of attack which has caused all sorts of problems for antivirus software developers. As previously reported, the number of data breaches that occurred in 2013 reached a record high.
As the number of data breaches that were experienced in 2013, you would expect the demand for antivirus software programs to be on the increase. However, a leading antivirus software provider believes that this is no longer the case and claimed that antivirus software is now “dead”.
Brian Dye, senior vice president for information security at Symantec stated that software only catches only around 45% of malware attacks due to the sophistication of attacks. Dye also added that because of this, they are changing their focus onto detecting and responding to attacks rather than just trying to offer a product to protect against the attacks.
Dye stated, “The company is now moving its business towards detecting and responding to attacks, rather than simply trying to protect against them.”
Dye also stated that he believes that they have fallen behind competitors in the antivirus market but that they are trying hard to catch up again.
Dye added, “It’s one thing to sit there and get frustrated. It’s another thing to act on it, go get your act together and go play the game you should have been playing in the first place.”
At the moment, Symantec develop and sell the Norton antivirus software and have a turnover of around £590. At present, they control an 8% share of the antivirus market which accounts for 40% of the company’s revenue.
With such claims made by Dye about the effectiveness of antivirus products, it is essential that all critical data is protected by a robust backup solution. It is evident that some antivirus developers no longer have total faith in their own products and are looking at moving into other market areas to try and help consumers and businesses protect themselves against the ever increasing threat of cyber-attacks.
By having a robust backup solution in place, you can have the peace of mind that you can recover your data if it is deleted or modified during a cyber-attack.
Do you trust the antivirus program that you use? Do you have a robust backup solution in place?
