Security Intelligence Report: 7

Just wanted to share with you a couple of interesting graphics from the recent Microsoft Security Intelligence Report (SIR). SIR provides an in-depth perspective on the changing threat landscape including software vulnerability disclosures and exploits, malicious software (malware), and potentially unwanted software. Using data derived from hundreds of millions of Windows computers, and some of the busiest online services on the Internet, this report also provides a detailed analysis of the threat landscape and the changing face of threats and countermeasures and includes updated data on privacy and breach notifications:

“Malicious software infection rates differ significantly for different versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system. Windows Vista was less infected at any service pack level than Windows XP. Comparing the latest service packs for each version, the infection rate of Windows Vista SP1 is 61.9 percent less than that of Windows XP SP3.

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The following map illustrates the infection rates of locations around the world, expressed in a metric called CCM that represents the number of computers cleaned per thousand executions of the Malicious Software Removal Tool.

 

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Despite the global nature of the Internet, there are significant differences in the types of threats that affect users in different parts of the world. Infection data from several Microsoft security products for some of the more populous locations around the world demonstrates the highly localized nature of malware and potentially unwanted software.”

 

To download a copy of the report, see here: https://www.microsoft.com/security/portal/Threat/SIR.aspx