Network security study reveals 26,000 undetected malware samples

A two-month study has identified 26,000 unique malware samples that were completely undetected by existing anti-virus solutions.

The study by Palo Alto Networks found that web-based malware stays hidden for an average of 20 days before being detected, as opposed to five days for email-based malware, while 94 per cent of the undetected malware was delivered via web browsing or web proxies.

According to the company report, malware samples were collected in live enterprise networks from its WildFire malware protection. As part of its normal analysis, it tested malware samples collected by WildFire against fully updated anti-virus products from six industry-leading enterprise anti-virus vendors. The report said: “The intent is not to point out that some malware gets by traditional anti-virus, but rather to provide actionable insight into the problem – what malware strategies are the most successful, why, and how can security teams respond.”