McAfee: Fastest Malware Growth in 4 Years

by InvestorPlace Staff | September 4, 2012 11:32 am

Hackers are not letting up. According to Intel’s (NASDAQ:INTC[1]) McAfee division, the company saw a 23% increase in new types of malware in the latest quarter[2], marking the fastest growth rate in four years.

The main target for malware still is the PC. But in the past few years, Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL[3]) Mac computers have seen more threats.

Perhaps the biggest security threat is for mobile devices — a market that’s growing at a torrid rate. (For example, devices using Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG[4]) Android operating system are seeing 1 million activations per day.) One pernicious virus on this front is “ransomware,” which will take control of a smartphone and only release it when a payment is made.

Consumers often do not realize the problems until it is too late. Naturally, this could be a big opportunity for security companies[5] such as Symantec (NASDAQ:SYMC[6]), which could find plenty of new growth from the mobile market.

– Tom Taulli, InvestorPlace

Source URL: http://investorplace.com/2012/09/mcafee-fastest-malware-growth-in-4-years/
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