PC Tools slams vendor produced 'top' threat lists

According to PC Tools, details of the complexity of a threat and its adoption of new techniques are needed to effectively identify and classify them as top rated threats.

Additionally, its speed in responding to detection and the danger it poses to the recipient or what type of malicious payload it carries are better indicators.

Using the example of the Netsky threat discovered over four years ago, the vendor said it is still appearing on top threat lists based purely on high propagation rates even though the threat presented by Netsky may be overplayed.

“Netsky’s behavioural and static characteristics are well known to analysts in the anti-malware industry, and freely available anti-virus technology detects and removes it with ease. Accordingly we think it is less of a threat than reported by other security vendors,” said Kurt Baumgartner, chief threat officer, PC Tools.

PC Tools deemed the reports as useless for the security industry and argued they do not adequately represent the changing threat landscape.

“Threat analysis is highly complex. There was a time when volume alone was an acceptable indicator of the level of threat,” said Simon Clausen, chief executive officer at PC Tools.

“But the threat landscape has changed significantly and there are a number of additional parameters, besides volume, which are equally, if not more important in identifying and classifying top threats.”