Use of malware continues to grow, increasing cyber risks

The use and availability of malware continues to evolve rapidly, causing a dramatic increase in cyber risks, reported Lloyd’s.
Malware is software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without the owner’s informed consent, according to Wikipedia.
In 1988, fewer than 2,000 unique malware samples had been logged. By 1998, the figure had risen to 178,000; the number of malware attacks reached nearly 6 million in August 2008, Lloyd’s reported.
“We are all too free with our personal details,” Rik Ferguson, senior security advisor at Trend Micro, told delegates of an Austrian seminar organized by Lloyd’s broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson.
“We hear a lot in the news about lost data sticks and laptops stolen from cars, but malware actually accounts for most lost data.”
Lloyd’s reported that digital and cyber risks have jumped up the list of priorities for most risk managers as a result.
“The privacy and security related risks that arise from such events expose organizations to regulatory actions, liability claims and direct [first party] losses,” Lloyd’s reported Luke Foord-Kelcey, a partner at JLT, as saying.