Cyber Crime
In the past, writers of viruses used to do it just for the sake of exploiting holes in applications. Today, it has turned into a criminal enterprise. Organized crime such as the Russian and Chechnyan mafia can make a great deal of money from cyber crime activities. There are top–level programmers working for the Chinese government who are receiving stipends and getting their studies subsidized.

There is also the issue of cyber warfare with governments attacking each other in order to take down communications. It’s an effective tactic since it’s easier to hack in and take down a power plant remotely rather than physically.

Toward a More Unified Security Stance
Because the number of security threats and variant types is increasing each year, and because each threat purpose is different by design, organizations need to do more than scan files with a signature analysis; they need to take a comprehensive, multipronged stance that encompasses myriad multiple technical and analytical components, including emulation, virtualization, event monitoring, heuristic analysis, behavioral detection, and anomaly scanning.

What Do Companies Need to Consider when Evaluating Security Software?

Integration
What other technologies are you going to be integrating it with? Integrations with NAC and DLP are crucial, personal firewalls, antispam on the desktop, there is a lot work integrating within various NAC frameworks. This all affects your IT environment, staff bandwidth, and network interruption.

Deployment
How are you going to actually deploy your security software? If you’re deploying enterprise–wide, you probably already have some antivirus already installed which means you’ll have to uninstall the existing clients. This can be a challenge especially with mobile workstations—road warriors and field personnel can be difficult to track down.

Network Disruption & User Experience
Popups? Cryptic interface? How much memory and cpu resources do you have? Will the software slow down your pc or your network?

Central Management
Central management is always a challenge for security administrators. Managing the sheer number of updates and ensuring you push them out in a timely manner can be time–consuming. Also, having a simple, easy–to–use interface is crucial.

Licensing & Reporting
Whether you’re protecting a physical device or a virtual device, you have to have a license. And since each security vendor has a different way of handling licensing plans (server/desktop, reporting abilities, etc), understanding the different licensing strategies and approaches is crucial.

Upgrading & Updating
The upgrade process is also a big concern. As many customers are currently experiencing with Symantec when they go to upgrade, they have to first rip out all the current software and reinstall. IT administrators also need to take into consideration the number of updates, the size of the updates, and the accuracy of the signatures.

Platform Support
Another challenge is whether the security software vendor offers multi–platform support—for Linux or Mac desktops for example.

Regulatory Compliance
For companies that must comply with regulatory requirements such as HIPPA, Gramm–Leach Bliley, or PCI, it’s crucial to have security measures in place that engage industry best practices.

IT Skill Level
Companies also need to evaluate whether they have the IT staff and skilled resources necessary to deploy and manage security initiatives. Although vendors continue to make software that’s easier to deploy and manage, many are still a challenge based on the complexity of the technology. Antivirus software used to be a commodity that even the most junior IT guy could handle. Now it’s a fully mature technology that takes a higher level skillset to manage.

Test, Test, Test
When it comes to security software, there is really no replacement for an actual deployment. Vendors should provide you with evaluation licenses for testing. If they don’t, RUN! Also, it’s important to have a selection of users for testing; include technical people, non–technical personnel, and also include upper management.

Do Some Research
Don’t just buy a big name, do some research. Some of the best products on the market are from companies you may not have heard of. A couple of great sites to explore are:
http://www.av–comparatives.org
http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100

A Top Recommendation: Kaspersky Lab
We’ve analyzed most of the leading security technology vendors in the marketplace in order to help our customers better protect their business assets. In particular, we’ve been impressed with Kaspersky Lab’s security solutions—they’ve got a 10–year strong industry track record, a rapid market adoption rate, and a comprehensive, solid product that we feel is best–of–breed.

Summary: Security Best Practices
Rather than buy any old antivirus software of the shelf, companies need to evaluate at a higher level—taking into consideration numerous factors to ensure the security of their business. Today’s threats have made it clear that antivirus software packages are not all created equal.