Australians concerned about spyware: survey

Spyware topped the list of web security concerns in a recent survey of Australian businesses.

Almost half the respondents to a recent survey carried out by security vendor MessageLabs saw spyware as their biggest web security security threat.

James Scollay, vice president at MessageLabs Asia Pacific, said that as IT security measures became more effective, cyber criminals had to constantly evolve new methods of attack.

“Attackers now combine an understanding of human behaviour with technical subterfuge," Scollay said.

"We are seeing targeted spam posing as legitimate email which encourages readers to open links to sites which unintentionally download malicious code such as spyware."

The survey also found that almost 60 percent of respondents had already experienced spyware issues.

It also found that, of the respondents, more than one-third did not currently have web filtering in place, with nearly half planning to introduce new or additional anti-spyware measures in the next three to six months.

The telephone survey of 81 Australian businesses was carried out in September, according to a statement from MessageLabs.