The global anti-malware market is driven by cybercriminal threats

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, World Anti-Malware Products Markets, finds that the world market for antivirus solutions reached $4.685 billion in 2006, up 17.1 per cent from $4 billion in the previous year and expects this market to grow at a 10.9 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2006 to 2013, reaching $9.690 billion by 2013.

The commercialisation of cybercrime is spurring malware-writing activity and leading to more threats of this nature. In the consumer space, this translates into identity theft and stolen passwords.

On the other hand, loss of intellectual property and customer data coupled with extortion with the threat of taking down Web sites or revealing sensitive information are on the rise in the enterprise space.

“Cybercrime is now amongst the most important revenue sectors for global organized crime”, says Frost & Sullivan Industry Analyst Katie Gotzen. Because of this, the potential risks associated with malware have risen dramatically.

“Malware attacks are today in the hands of professional criminals, whose goal is to create revenue. This explains why attacks today are targeted.