Gulf faces more malware threat than Europe

Dubai Exposure to malware (malicious software) in the GCC countries in the first quarter of this year is around 1.5 times higher than in European countries, an industry expert said. "People in GCC countries are more likely to encounter malware while surfing the internet. One third of the people in GCC countries encountered malware this way. Even the lowest number for the region Kuwait with 27 per cent was higher than in EU countries, where the average value was 20 per cent," David Emm, Senior Regional Researcher, Kaspersky Lab, said, reported Dubai’s Gulf News Tuesday. He said, "our products blocked an average of 15 malicious programs per user: the lowest was Kuwait with 11; the highest was Oman with 19." The risk of infection from flash drives, local networks and the spread of malware from other files on the system is even greater than the risk of infection from the internet. On average, he said more than 42 per cent of people in the region encountered malware this way: the lowest was Kuwait with 38 per cent; the highest was Oman with 53 per cent.