Malware Threats Double in 2009

Trend Micro and AVTest.org are both reporting a huge increase in malware.

Malware threats have undergone many, many stages of evolution over the years. First it was DOS viruses, then macro viruses, then mass-mailers, then botnets, then Web threats… the only constants seem to be that these are growing both in number and in danger.

TrendLabs has seen this continued growth of malware. The effects on users is clear: in the first six months of 2008, the Trend Micro World Virus Tracking Center (WTC) recorded that 253.4 million systems were infected with malware. The comparable volume for 2009 is almost double at 491.2 million.

While not a welcome development, this wasn’t unexpected either. The official 2009 Trend Micro forecast pointed out that malware threats had been growing for years, and 2009 was going to see more of the same.

It’s not just limited to Trend Micro, either. AV-Test.org has released their findings for the first half of the year recently, with similar results. Both organizations expect the growth to continue, with little relief in sight.