London, UK, June 2010 - Reports that Google are planning to drop the Microsoft operating system for security reasons following targeted attacks they've been suffering may lead other enterprises to follow this practice. Adopting this practice by enterprises will not improve their defences against targeted attacks, according to Trusteer the leading provider of secure browsing services.
“Enterprises that are considering shifting to an operating system like Mac or Linux should realize that although there are less malware programs available against these platforms, the shift will not solve the targeted attacks problem and may even make it worse," said Mickey Boodaei, Trusteer's CEO.
“Mac and Linux are not more secure than Windows. They're less targeted. There is a big difference. If you choose a less targeted platform then there is less of a chance of getting infected with standard viruses and Trojans that are not targeting you specifically. This could be an effective way of reducing infection rates for companies that suffer frequent infections”, he added.
However, when it comes to targeted attacks this approach offers little value and may even increase exposure.
“In a targeted attack where criminals decide to target a specific enterprise because they're interested in its data assets, they can very easily learn the type of platform used (for example Mac or Linux) and then build malware that attacks this platform and release it against the targeted enterprise,” said Boodaei.
According to Boodaei, ”The security community is years behind when it comes to security products for Mac and Linux. Therefore there is much less chance that any security product will be able to effectively detect and block this attack. By taking the action of that the enterprise increases its exposure to targeted attacks, not reducing it.”
For more on the response from Microsoft to Google visit http://ow.ly/1T2lX
For more on Trusteer visit http://www.trusteer.com/
Trusteer, the world’s leading provider of secure browsing services, helps prevent financial malware attacks through its Rapport and Flashlight services. Trusteer Rapport enables banks and online businesses to protect sensitive data such as account holder credentials from malware by locking down the browser and creating a tunnel for safe communication between the web site and customers’ machines. It also prevents phishing by validating site authenticity. Trusteer Flashlight allows remote, effective, and instant investigation of malware-related fraud incidents. Trusteer’s solutions are used by more than 60 leading financial organizations in North America and Europe and by more than 6.5 million of their customers. Trusteer is a privately held corporation led by former executives from RSA Security, Imperva, and Juniper. For more information visit www.trusteer.com.
I must say that I find it amazing that so many supposed security experts keep running down Mac and Linux in favour of Microsoft Windows, whether for operating system on computers or on servers.
The great majority of servers that run websites are Apache, which is Linux, and Mac and Linux, as OS for personal computers are much safer against viruses, malware and also direct hacks – Linux especially – than Windows will ever be.
However, then again, where would all those security vendors and consultants be would it not be for Windows and its vulnerabilities and holes.
So, I guess, one can understand their anti-Linux and -Mac stance.
Source: Eskenzi PR with additional writing by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
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