Malware fight is failing report

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION IS NEEDED to combat malware, according to a report from the Organisation  for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which says the present “fragmented” response   doesn’t work.

The report says around one in four personal computers in the US – or 59 million – is already infected with malware.  Over the last 20 years, it says, malware has evolved from occasional “exploits” to a  global multi-million dollar criminal  industry.

“As governments rely ever more on the Internet to provide services for citizens, they face complexchallenges in  securing information systems and networks from attack or penetration by malicious actors,” the report says.  “The  effectiveness of current security technologies and other protections in detecting and containing malware is challenged by  the shrinking of the time between the discovery of vulnerabilities in software products and their exploitation.

“In light of the need for a holistic and comprehensive approach to malware to effectively reduce malicious activity on  the Internet, this report suggests organising a global ‘Anti-Malware Partnership’ involving governments, the private sector, the technical community and civil society to produce joined-up policy guidance to fight malware on all fronts  from educational to technical to legal and economical.” Read the full report at tinyurl.com/3vun85