Bit9 Announces Results of the “2010 What’s Running on Your Users' Desktops?” Survey

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For the second year in a row, survey reveals corporate and government computers are polluted with unauthorized software that increases costs and introduces security risks

05.24.2010 - Waltham, Mass.

What the survey reveals an eye-opener for organizations that are concerned about targeted attacks, malware and the “Advanced Persistent Threat.” The survey shows that the majority of the time company policies are not being effectively enforced. While 68 percent of the respondents have software restrictions in place, an alarming 45 percent have found unauthorized software running on more than half of their computers.

With software usage policies so frequently disregarded, it’s no surprise that only 32 percent of the survey respondents reported feeling confident that their businesses will be protected from harm caused by unauthorized or malicious software in 2010. IT security confidence dropped, down from 34 percent last year.

Additional findings from the Survey included:

• Spyware, Malicious Software and Unlicensed Software continue to be a real problem for organizations– 46 percent of respondents noted that this type of software has evaded reactive security measures and poses a major problem for enterprises. These findings highlight the shortcomings of traditional, reactive security approaches such as signature-based AV, which although employed by a majority of respondents, only protects against known malware, leaving companies open to unknown attacks. 

• Unauthorized or malicious software causes up to 25 percent of user downtime and help desk calls– For the second year in a row, malware caused a significant drop in productivity. By proactively controlling unauthorized or malicious software, organizations could benefit from increases in productivity and overall cost-savings and up to a quarter of total employee downtime could be eliminated.

• 39 percent of respondents do not have a software usage policy that prohibits employees from downloading software to their computers at their discretion– The number of organizations opening their endpoints and networks up to malware increased last year, rising from 29 percent the previous year. This trend reveals that despite ongoing cyber security warnings, organizations are more at risk to malicious attack than in 2009.

 “The results from our survey once again underscore the need for companies to adopt a more proactive approach to endpoint security to prevent unauthorized software from being downloaded and running in their organizations,” said Tom Murphy, Chief Strategy Officer, Bit9. “Rather than scrambling to react to the latest malicious piece of software – costing time and money – IT administrators need to ensure that only approved software will run in their enterprise. This is a business critical need confirmed by the large amount of respondents that are dealing with malware across their networks.”

The survey targeted organizations ranging in revenue of $100 Million to $1 Billion across a variety of industries.

About Bit9, Inc.

Bit9 is the pioneer and leader in Enterprise Application Whitelisting. The company's solutions provide total visibility and control over all software on endpoints, eliminating the risk caused by malicious, illegal and unauthorized software. Bit9 specializes in stopping the Advanced Persistent Threat.

Bit9 leverages the Bit9 Global Software RegistryTM - the world's largest database of software intelligence - to identify and classify software, delivering the highest levels of endpoint security, compliance, and manageability. Bit9's global customers include companies in a wide variety of industries, such as government, financial services, retail, healthcare, e-commerce and education.

Bit9 was awarded a prestigious $2M United States federal research grant in 2003 from the National Institute of Standards and Technology-Advanced Technology Program (NIST ATP) to conduct the research that is now at the core of our application whitelisting solutions. Bit9 is privately held and based in Waltham, Massachusetts. For more information, visithttp://www.bit9.comor call +1 617.393.7400.

News Source : Bit9 Announces Results of the “2010 What’s Running on Your Users' Desktops?” Survey