Stop the antivirus vendor hype

[InfoSec News <isn () C4I ORG>]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/8/17372.html

By: John Leyden
Posted: 06/03/2001 at 13:57 GMT

A senior figure in the antivirus industry has spoken out against the
misinformation and myths which surround computer viruses - many of
which he said arise due to hype from vendors themselves.

David Perry, global director of education for Trend Micro, said the
public harbour a number of common misconceptions about computer
viruses, due in large part to overstated warnings about viruses from
vendors and sensationalist reporting in the media.

Perry, who has spent 10 years in technical support, said: "The problem
on help desks is only occasionally fixing the damage caused by
computer viruses, it's mostly fixing problems caused by lack of
understanding."

His argument is that rumour and innuendo, hoaxes and pop culture
create a rich breeding ground for myths about viruses - such as the
idea viruses are created by antivirus companies or are able to destroy
hardware - that takes focus away from the real issues.

Perry's central point, made in a speech at the 10th Annual European
Institute for Anti Virus Research (EICAR) conference in Munich this
week, is that misinformed users can actually increase the likelihood
of virus infestation, and more needs to be done close the gap between
perceived and actual damage caused by viruses.

An example of this knowledge deficit, according to Perry, is that of
the 30,000 to 50,000 computer viruses routinely quoted in figures from
the antivirus industry, only 800 have ever infected anybody's computer
and "only 200 are in circulation".

"The rest are 'zoo' viruses - which are emailed to antivirus companies
by virus authors themselves and never make it into the wild," said
Perry.

Perry, who himself admits to having over-hyped viruses in the past,
said he re-examined his approach after warnings he made about the
NewLove virus, a post Love Bug flop, failed to materialise. He argues
virus firms need to be more cautious in issuing alerts - despite the
temptation to cry wolf.

"The antivirus industry is fiercely competitive. There's millions of
dollars to be made and lost and firms gets enormous communication
value and mind share when they're quoted in reports of virus outbreaks
in the press," said Perry. "The firms who tend to cry wolf are those
who need coverage at a particular time, and after an alert is issued
things tend to take on a life of their own."

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