SOPHOS LAUNCHES WEBALERT TO HELP FIRMS KNOW IF THEIR WEBSITE IS INFECTED

New service alerts customers if websites are hacked by malicious scripts, Trojans, worms and viruses

September 23, 2008 - IT security and control firm Sophos today announced the availability of a new service, Sophos WebAlert, providing website administrators with notification if their site is hosting malicious code. Experts at the firm have produced a video demonstrating how the service works in simple terms using children's toys.

Sophos threat experts on average detect one new infected webpage every five seconds, and have identified over 380,000 new webpages carrying malware since the beginning of September. Over 90 percent of these webpages belong to legitimate sites that have been compromised through hacking techniques such as SQL Injection.-

Infected websites pose a threat to all internet users - as simply visiting the site can infect unprotected web users.-

It is not just small websites that suffer from such attacks. Victims in the past few months have included BusinessWeek, Yahoo! TV, British government websites, UNICEF, MySpace, Sony PlayStation, and the International Tennis Federation.-

Sophos WebAlert is available at no additional change to customers of Sophos's Premium and Platinum Support services

QUOTE:"For too long it has been child's play for hackers to infect websites without the owner of the site ever being aware. Many firms have still not coded their websites correctly or taken the preventative measures necessary to stop infections like this occurring. Sophos WebAlert provides companies with visibility as to whether their websites are being attacked."Carole Theriault, senior security consultant, Sophos.

More information on Sophos WebAlert : http://www.sophos.com/webalert