Security experts are warning that malware writers in Russia are
offering virus support as well as creation tools.
A Russian hacking group is offering a tool to imbed a unique Trojan
in a Word document that can be used for spying or network
manipulation.
If the virus is identified by the antivirus companies, the hacking
group will replace it with a new one.
"It is new that a virus creator is offering a service contract,"
said Mark Sunner, chief security analyst at MessageLabs.
"To make it harder these are one-off viruses, so the chances of
your IT staff finding them are very low. We see this activity
hitting every size of company."
Sunner was speaking to vnunet.com at the release of a survey by IDC
on managed security offerings. The results suggest that small
businesses in the UK are not taking enough care over
security.
Reliability and support were the top priorities for small
businesses over security spending, yet most SMEs do not have the
staff or resources to do this job internally.
"Everyone now has the big risks to manage," said Greg Day, senior
security analyst at McAfee.
"A lot of companies do not have the time or expertise to do their
own security effectively. Under these circumstances a managed
offering may be the best option."
The survey also found that the two biggest problems for SMEs are
keeping up to date with security solutions and managing new
threats.