Execs frequenting porn sites is primary source of computer viruses in the workplace

According to a study from ThreatTrack Security, 40% of security professionals admitted that a malware-infected device they’ve had to clean was infected by a company’s senior leader who had downloaded the virus after visiting a pornographic website. 

Furthermore, nearly 60% of those interviewed said that they had to rid a company device of malware after an executive clicked on a malicious link or was duped by a phishing email. 45% said that they had to clean a virus from a device because the executive allowed a family member to use it.

What’s really surprising is the lack of disclosure when these devices become infected. Given that they belong to high-ranking officials, the security breaches can be considered high profile. Yet, despite obvious performance issues with the device, six in 10 analysts said they were called in to address a data breach that was not initially disclosed by a company official.

TheatTrack CEO Julian Waits Sr. says that it’s no surprise these breaches keep on happening.

“Every day, malware becomes more sophisticated, and U.S. enterprises are constantly targeted for cyberespionage campaigns from overseas competitors and foreign governments,” Waits said. “This study reveals that malware analysts are acutely aware of the threats they face, and while many of them report progress in their ability to combat cyber-attacks, they also point out deficiencies in resources and tools.”

To his latter point, Waits is speaking to the fact that, despite the increased number of attacks, most security professionals don’t believe they have enough support to deal with the problems they face. 40% of those surveyed said that one of the more difficult aspects of their job is in having to deal with the severe shortage of highly-skilled security personnel on staff.

This is particularly disconcerting when considering that more than half of the interviewees admitted it takes two hours to analyze a new malware sample; only 4% said that they could complete the task in less than an hour.

TheatTrack interviewed a total of 200 security professionals for this study, all of whom are employed at large U.S. businesses.

Story via: BusinessNewsDaily