In 2012, more than 2,800 websites with addresses ending in .ch or .li were cleaned of "drive-by" code. SWITCH warns that malware represents the biggest threat to Internet users in 2013. The negative trend is continuing, with 25% more websites infected by malware in the first quarter of 2013.
Malware includes Trojans, worms, viruses and spyware. It infects websites that cybercriminals access using stolen or easily guessable passwords, and simply calling up these sites can cause harmful programs to be installed on your computer. SWITCH identified malware infections on 2,849 websites in 2012. It asked the holders of these websites to remove the harmful code within 24 hours. Last year, harmful code was removed from 561 websites and 51 domain names were deleted. SWITCH expects the number of infected websites to rise again this year. In the first quarter of 2013 alone, malware was found on 713 domains, 25% more than in the fourth quarter of 2012 (see chart). Harmful code has been found in no fewer than 5,439 cases since the process was started in 2010. All of the domain name holders were informed.
Criminals becoming ever more refined
According to SWITCH, cybercriminals are using increasingly clever methods: Drive-by code on infected websites is being hidden more and more effectively and is now being specifically designed to recognise and prevent analyses. This makes it harder for domain name holders to remove it. SWITCH plans to provide them with even better information and support on this subject going forward. In August 2012, Switzerland was the safest country in the world in terms of protection against malware. It was overtaken in the first three months of 2013 by Finland with 17% of computers infected and Sweden with 20%. At present, 20.99% of Swiss computers are infected with malware, putting Switzerland in third place worldwide.
Regular updates crucial
"It is crucial that Internet users regularly check their plug-ins for updates or use an automated update agent to ensure that all available security updates are installed automatically," advises Dr Serge Droz, Head of Security at SWITCH. The latest information on the topic of security can be found on the SWITCH Security Blog at http://securityblog.switch.ch.
The PandaLabs Quarterly Report for Q1 2013 contains information on malware security around the world:
http://press.pandasecurity.com/press-room/reports/
About SWITCH
As a partner of the universities, SWITCH brought the Internet to Switzerland 25 years ago. Today, the non-profit organisation with 100 employees at its headquarters in Zurich develops Internet services for lecturers, researchers and students, as well as for commercial customers. SWITCH stands for security on the Internet.
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