MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — A new messaging security field study confirms the need for Zero Hour(TM) Virus Outbreak Protection, Commtouch(R) (Nasdaq:CTCH) announced today.
Email-borne malware such as viruses, Trojans and worms have successfully penetrated 84% of enterprises, according to a new report by Osterman Research Inc. The report, Messaging Security Market Trends, 2006-2009, surveyed over 100 medium to large companies about their exposure to messaging security threats.
"Virus attacks are much more aggressive and sophisticated than in the past, with zombies distributing rapid, broadly based attacks, with multiple variations of each virus," said Michael Osterman, Principal of Osterman Research. "The best way for companies to avoid being hit is to implement a pro-active virus protection solution that does not rely on signatures. Commtouch is one of the leading vendors addressing this problem."
Commtouch’s Zero-Hour Virus Outbreak Protection software successfully detects malware outbreaks during the crucial early hours of an outbreak, often well-before new anti-virus signatures or heuristics rules to block the virus are available.
A new trend has emerged among malicious software writers and distributors: creating multiple variants of each virus and sending them in far-reaching multiple waves of spam outbreaks. "In the first three weeks of July, 2006, the Commtouch Global Detection Centers have detected and blocked some 235 distinct variants of the Mytob malware. This means, on average, 11 new variants each day, with each variant being circulated in dozens to thousands of copies worldwide," said Amir Lev, CTO of Commtouch. "We have also detected 12 new variants of the Lovegate malware, 10 variants of Netsky, 42 of Feebs, 110 of Scano, 127 different Trojan variants, and with each new month the list just gets longer."
This trend has made it more difficult for signature-based anti-virus solutions to catch every outbreak, since their rules cannot cover every possible variation.
A recent wave of yahoo.exe malware targeting Yahoo! mail clients further substantiates the need to safeguard IT systems with Zero-Hour Virus Outbreak Protection. Commtouch Research Labs reveals that 74% of traditional AV vendors did not deliver a signature until 17 to 60 hours after the start of this outbreak. Users of these solutions were left unprotected during the crucial initial hours when the virus was propagating most rapidly, and many — including users of the market-leading anti-virus solutions — were still unprotected by the time the outbreak was over.
"The facts speak for themselves: anti-virus solutions experience a delay until new signatures are available. As a result, the majority of companies running these traditional solutions are being infected by dangerous email messages," Lev continued. "Many of the leading messaging security and anti-virus vendors have come to the conclusion that Commtouch’s Zero-Hour Virus Outbreak Protection is the ideal complement for their traditional anti-virus solutions."
About Commtouch
Commtouch Software Ltd. (Nasdaq:CTCH) is dedicated to protecting and preserving the integrity of the world’s most important communications tool — email. Commtouch has over 15 years of experience developing messaging software and is a global developer and provider of proprietary anti-spam and Zero-Hour virus protection solutions. Using core technologies including RPD (Recurrent Pattern Detection(TM)), the Commtouch Detection Center analyzes billions of email messages per month to identify new spam and malware outbreaks within minutes of their introduction into the Internet. Integrated by more than 40 OEM partners, Commtouch technology protects thousands of organizations, with over 35 million users in over 100 countries. Commtouch is headquartered in Netanya, Israel, and has a subsidiary in Mountain View, CA. For more information, see: www.commtouch.com, including the Commtouch online lab detailing spam statistics and charts.
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including projections about our business, within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. For example, statements in the future tense, and statements including words such as "expect," "plan," "estimate," "anticipate," or "believe" are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on information available to us at the time of the release; we assume no obligation to update any of them. The statements in this release are not guarantees of future performance and actual results could differ materially from our current expectations as a result of numerous factors, including business conditions and growth or deterioration in the Internet market, commerce and the general economy, both domestic as well as international; fewer than expected new-partner relationships; competitive factors, including pricing pressures; technological developments, and products offered by competitors; the ability of our OEM partners to successfully penetrate markets with products integrated with Commtouch technology; a slower than expected acceptance rate for real time AV solutions in general and the Commtouch Zero-Hour(TM) Virus Protection product in particular; availability of qualified staff for expansion; technological difficulties and resource constraints encountered in developing new products, such as the Zero-Hour solution; and the failure of Commtouch to meet The NASDAQ Capital Market’s listing standards in the future, as well as those risks described in the text of this press release and the company’s Annual Reports on Form 20-F and reports on Form 6-K, which are available through www.sec.gov.
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