Malware Challenges will continue in 2012

This article discusses the challenges associated with preventing malware attacks in the coming year.

PC Magazine - Let's Terminate Malware in 2012
http://securitywatch.pcmag.com/security/292164-let-s-terminate-malware-in-2012

QUOTE: Antivirus research is a cat and mouse problem. Each time the virus writers develop a new technique to spread malware or steal private data, antivirus experts rush to build countermeasures. To actually defeat the malware coders, we need to get out of strictly reactive mode. That requires looking at the motivations that drive malware creators, not just at their actions.

Malware earned about trillion dollars last year, according Melissa Hathaway, former cyber-security advisor to the president. Trend Micros's researchers report that one malefactor spreading the KoobFace worm earned $19,000 in a single day. A single attack can involve dozens of individuals or gangs, each taking a cut of the profit. Trend's experts put together a report showing the entire complex economy surrounding modern malware manufacture. Click on the image to see the full infographic.

Organized computer crime exists to make money. One way to put the brakes on malware creation is to make it unprofitable. Sure, countering their technology is one way to cut the profits. A brand-new threat is most profitable immediately after its release, breaks even after it has spread enough, and tapers off once antivirus tools start to counter it. Pushing antivirus detection so it occurs before break-even would definitely cramp their style.