During a four-month long
cyberattack by Chinese hackers on
the New York Times, the company's
antivirus software missed 44 of the
45 pieces of malware installed by
attackers on the network.

That's a stunning wake-up call to
people and businesses who think
they are fully protected by their
antivirus software.
"Even the most modern version of
antivirus software doesn't give
consumers or enterprises what they
need to compete in the hacker
world," said Dave Aitel, CEO of
security consultancy Immunity. "It's
just not as effective as it needs to
be."

The New York Times said it had an
antivirus system from Symantec
installed on devices connected to its
network. The Chinese hackers built
custom malware to, among other
things, retrieve the usernames and
passwords of Times' reporters. Since
that brand-new malware wasn't on
Symantec's list of forbidden
software, most of it was allowed to
pass through undetected.

Symantec responded that it offers
more advanced solutions than the
one the New York Times deployed.
"Advanced attacks like the ones the
New York Times described
underscore how important it is for
companies, countries and
consumers to make sure they are
using the full capability of security
solutions," the company said in a
written statement. "Antivirus
software alone is not enough."

The cold fact is that no single
solution can prevent all cyberthreats.
Sophisticated attacks on networks
routinely bypass network security
systems, no matter how rock-solid
they are -- or claim to be.
"Commercially available solutions
are available to everyone," said
Rohit Sethi, head of product
development for SD Elements, a
security firm. "It's not hard for
attackers to learn how to evade
detection, and they're coming up
with ingenious ways of doing just
that."

The solution, security experts say, is
to deploy technology that keeps a
very, very close eye on what's
happening inside your network. You
can't always prevent attackers from
getting in, but you can at least set
tripwires to alert you when they do.

In the New York Times' case, the
company suspected that it would be
attacked because of its investigation
into Chinese Prime Minister Wen
Jiabao's family finances. It asked
AT&T to monitor its network. AT&T
quickly picked up suspicious signs.
Two weeks later, when the extent of
the infiltration became clear, the
Times hired security consultancy
Mandiant to track the attackers'
movements through its systems.

"Attackers no longer go after our
firewall," Michael Higgins, the Times'
chief security officer, told Times
reporter Nicole Perlroth. "They go
after individuals. They send a
malicious piece of code to your e-
mail account and you're opening it
and letting them in."

From there, the best thing
companies can do is track what
attackers are doing.
"The question we always ask our
customers is, 'Do you know every
program running on your network?"
said Immunity's Aitel. "When you
know the answer to that question,
you don't need antivirus software.
When you don't, you're screwed."

Experts say that antivirus software is
still a good, basic thing to have.
Owning an antivirus solution is like
putting the Club in your car -- it's
not going to stop a determined thief,
but it's going to make stealing your
stuff more difficult.

Antivirus software maker Avast,
whose free antivirus software is
among the most widely used, says
there's a major distinction between
the kinds of threats encountered by
everyday Web surfers and the
carefully targeted attack the Times
faced.
"Seatbelts and airbags are
wonderful protection and improve
the safety of millions, but they will
not stop a bullet fired -- say by a
hired killer," said Jindrich Kubec,
Avast's threat intelligence director.
"Does it mean you will stop using
airbags and seatbelts?"

Some antivirus solutions are better
than others. In a recent analysts,
Immunity simulated attacks against
networks protected by the top-of-
the-line software built by Symantec,
Kaspersky Labs and Intel's McAfee
security division.

Immunity was able to break into the
systems protected by Kaspersky and
McAfee in two days. Symantec was
the best of the breed, with Immunity
unable to penetrate it in the several
days it gave itself to achieve the task.

"New reputational-based software
works to an extent," Aitel said,
referring to systems that aim to
contextualize the threats they detect.
"But deep down, nothing is as good
has having a proper awareness
about what's going on in your
network."

www.cnnmoney.mobi/primary/article?url=http://money.cnn.com/mobile/json/2013/01/31/technology/security/antivirus.json

Long read but great one! I wonder how many Malwares they've got on their systems in Aso rock. That's if they have any.

Brand_new: Long read but great one! I wonder how many Malwares they've got on their systems in Aso rock. That's if they have any.

I'm sure they've got malwares because they've been targeted several times by hacktivist.

From there, the best thing
companies can do is track what
attackers are doing.
"The question we always ask our
customers is, 'Do you know every
program running on your network?"
said Immunity's Aitel. "When you
know the answer to that question,
you don't need antivirus software.
When you don't, you're screwed."

this got to me. What are the ways to monitor what is going on ones system?

hisblud: this got to me. What are the ways to monitor what is going on ones system?

Maybe the programming gurus can help us out here.

.