Posted on behalf of Paul Wood, MessageLabs Intelligence Senior Analyst, Symantec Hosted Services As the global workforce becomes more mobile and security threats more complex, IT managers in small-to-medium sized businesses (SMBs) are in search of security solutions that are easy to deploy and manage. The endpoint can be the last line of defense for any organization, and for some it may be the only one. Thus the challenges of managing endpoint security demand a consistent approach in deploying continual updates and being able to safeguard employees both inside and outside the corporate network. Security threats to corporate endpoints like desktops, laptops and file servers are growing in number and sophistication and can now evade traditional security measures. In 2009 Symantec created 2.9 million new malicious code signatures to address threats to our customers, a 71% increase over 2008. The majority of these signatures were developed as the result of heuristics, behavioral monitoring techniques, and reputation-based security that would have been missed initially by a purely responsive approach. The potential damage of a successful attack continues to increase as attack techniques become more sophisticated. In 2009, four of the top 10 most prevalent malicious threats observed expose confidential information or provide remote access to the effected desktop, laptop or file server. Failure to protect a company can cause loss of productivity, loss of intellectual property, loss of customer or employee data, loss of potential revenue opportunities and damage to an organization’s reputation. Downadup (Conficker) is an example of malware that propagated by exploiting vulnerabilities. Downadup.B was the most prolific threat globally in 2009 that employed file-sharing and removable media as a propagation method. Since November 2008, Downadup has risen to be the sixth-ranked staged downloader component and, overall, the fifth-ranked potential infection for 2009. There were more than 1.5 million infection counts of the Downadup worm observed by Symantec in December 2009 alone. Conficker/Downadup A hosted approach to endpoint security greatly simplifies the management and deployment of this critical protection. Customers benefit from advanced technologies that help protect their systems without requiring additional hardware, management software, or dedicated IT staffing, which makes the service particularly attractive to small and medium sized businesses with limited IT resources. It is an attractive solution for organizations that prefer to simplify administration by reducing on-site infrastructure. Symantec Hosted Endpoint Protection offers comprehensive endpoint security as a hosted service, helping organizations to protect their business without installing additional hardware or management software. It is designed to safeguard your systems with one easy to use solution that includes advanced technologies for antivirus, antispyware, firewall, host intrusion prevention, and email security, all managed from a single Web-based management console. For more information on Symantec Hosted Endpoint Protection, visit us at http://www.messagelabs.com/hep. To sign up for a free trial, visit www.messagelabs.com/trials/hep.