Google urges united front against malware
Monday, September 28, 2009
In the wake of recent high-profile malware attacks against users of the New York Times website and Razer USA's support server, representatives of search giant Google have argued for a tough, united stand against malware and internet service providers that turn a blind eye to its use.
The head of Google's anti-malvertising department, Eric Davis, spoke Wednesday at the Virus Bulletin conference in Geneva, saying that "[i]ndustry-wide focus is the best opportunity we have to deal with this." Davis proposed several plans, including a central clearinghouse that would monitor ad servers and certify them malware-free. He also cited an Australian initiative to help identify botnets as a promising step forward.
Malware, particularly of the type used in malvertising, is on the rise across the internet. Many websites, including search providers like Google, rely on third-party content networks to deliver advertisements to their websites. These third-party networks have been the chief target of malware distributors in recent months, with malvertisements appearing on dozens of the internet's most trafficked sites.
Some ISPs do not monitor their networks for malware in any meaningful way, and it is this laissez-faire attitude that Google's Davis pointed to as a major cause of the recent upsurge in malvertising.
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