The ambiguity of security. Perception vs. reality
Nowadays, IT security is experiencing a rather contradictory situation. On one hand, there is a general false sense of security. Mass infections, that not long ago, would dominate the front pages and headlines of the media, have almost disappeared. Users are untroubled and confident, protected by antivirus protection and security solutions that, at a glance, are all the same. It seems that everything is fine and under control.
Yet the reality is very different and all data indicates that malware is increasing dramatically. PandaLabs detected more viruses and threats in 2006 than in the previous 15 years combined. In 2009, the knowledge base at this laboratory contained more than 30 million threats, and it continues to receive some 50,000 new strains of malware every day. And it's not just a matter of quantity. The nature of threats has also changed: For example, malware that uses stealth techniques grew by over 32,000 percent. Similarly, the malware that has increased most over the last few years is designed specifically for financial fraud, such as bots, banker Trojans or keyloggers.
Panda Security’s response: A new security model from the cloud
How has Panda responded to the situation? As we began to see the situation develop and realized the consequences for the future, in 2006 we began to develop technologies that could offer protection, practically in real time, against an increasing avalanche of new malware. That year, we were already aware that the traditional antivirus model, which had been valid up until then, would not be sufficient to protect our clients in the future.
For this reason, we developed a new and revolutionary security model called Collective Intelligence, based on three pillars:
- Collection of data from the Web community. The system centrally collects and stores behavioral patterns of programs, file traces, new malware samples, etc. This data comes from Panda users, and from other companies and collaborators. This extensive capacity to collect information provides greater visibility of active Internet threats.
- Automatic leverage of data. The system automatically analyzes and classifies the thousands of new samples received every day. To do this, an expert system correlates the data received from the community with PandaLab's extensive malware knowledge base. The system automatically returns verdicts (malware or goodware) on the new files received, thereby drastically reducing the manual workload at PandaLabs.
- Making the knowledge available. This knowledge is delivered to users as Web services or through signature file updates.
This new focus allows us, on the one hand, to provide protection in just a few minutes against any new malware that appears, and on the other, to include cloud-based protection in our company's new security solutions.
In 2009, and thanks to Collective Intelligence, Panda Security was the first company to offer a cloud-based antivirus for home users. Panda Cloud Antivirus (www.cloudantivirus.com) offers practically real-time protection with barely any impact on computer performance, as virtually all processes take place on the Internet.
This enormous technological advance has been a milestone for the global security industry, and many other companies are beginning to follow it.
The company's technological vision is based on the pillars of Collective Intelligence, the use of light architecture switching key detection processes to the cloud (following up the great success of Panda Cloud Antivirus) and delivering solutions to partners and companies under the SaaS (Security-as-a-Service) model.
A new organization to move forward successfully
Panda Security took a significant step forward in 2007 with the entry of major investment funds such as InvestIndustrial, GalaCapital, HarbourVest and AtlanticBridge into its share capital. This has not only helped drive its international expansion through the acquisition of franchises in key markets, but also the company's technological evolution.
Panda has also appointed a new CEO, Juan Santana, who now has executive responsibility for the group, with a presence in more than 56 countries.