history of bitdefender

BitDefender®is the creator of one of the industry's fastest and most effective lines of internationally certified security software.

Since its inception in 2001, BitDefender® has continued to raise the bar to set new standards in proactive threat prevention.

BitDefender® made its entrance on the international market when opening its own offices in Germany, Spain, USA and the UK. The company’s global expansion plans are still underway as BitDefender® is strengthening its position based on a series of strategic partnerships. Moreover, BitDefender is also setting sail for Asia.

The BitDefender® proprietary technologies, based on innovative ideas and trends in the information security industry, have been internationally avowed by authorized organizations, which rewarded their outstanding results by numerous prizes and certifications (Av-Test.org, Virus Bulletin, ICSA lab, Checkmark, IST Prize etc). BitDefender® is the only South- Eastern European company to have received the European IST Prize for innovation from the European Commission and the representatives of 18 European academies. In 2008, BitDefender was rated #1 for protection by Consumer Reports, the largest consumer reporting publication worldwide. The BitDefender 2009 suite earned high marks in the product reviews conducted by top consumer and technology testers worldwide.

Every year, BitDefender® launches a new generation of its desktop product line and its issues patches for its corporate suites, adding new functionalities based on innovative technologies. In 2006, BitDefender® introduced B-HAVE (Behavioral Heuristic Analyzer in Virtual Environments), its proprietary heuristic detection technology. Same year, NeuNet, the new heuristic detection technologies was integrated in the BitDefender® solutions. Also the Spam Image Filter, an important step in fighting the new spamming techniques is now part of the BitDefender® antispam engines. In 2007 BitDefender® presented its new mobile security solution - providing real-time antivirus protection for mobile devices (smart phones and PDAs). In 2008 BitDefender partnered with SOS Online Backup, a leader in online data loss prevention, in order to provide an integrated online storage, backup, and recovery solution to protect business and consumer customers against data loss.

Every day, BitDefender® protects tens of millions of home and corporate users across the globe — giving them the peace of mind of knowing that their digital experiences will be secure. The BitDefender® solutions are distributed by a global network of value-added distribution and reseller partners in more than 100 countries worldwide. More information is available on our security solutions' site.

BitDefender E-Threats Landscape Report

The purpose of this report is to provide a comprehensive investigation of the threats’ landscape. BitDefender®’s security experts thoroughly analyze and examine the menaces of the each semester, focusing on software vulnerabilities and exploits, different types of malware, as well as countermeasures, cyber crime prevention and law enforcement. The E-Threats Landscape Report concentrates mainly on the latest trends, but it also contains facts and data and concerning the previously investigated periods, as well as several predictions related to the upcoming semesters. This document is primarily intended for IT&C System’s Security Managers, System and Network Administrators, Security Technology Developers, Analysts, and Researchers, but it also addresses issues pertaining to a broader audience, like small organizations or individual users concerned about the safety and integrity of their networks and systems.

Download now H1 2009 Malware and Spam Review Executive Summary.pdf

First Half’s Spotlight E-Threats

During the first half of 2009, the most important security incident was triggered by the emergence and expansion of the Downadup / Conficker / Kido internet worm exploiting a vulnerability in Microsoft operating systems prior to Windows Vista.

The MS08-067 vulnerability allowed Downadup to infect about 11 million computers worldwide during the first half of 2009. The infection is still in the wild, with hundreds of systems compromised on a daily basis.

Other significant malware vectors were leaked, unofficial distributions of Microsoft’s upcoming technologies: Windows 7, Microsoft Office 2010 and Microsoft Visual Studio 2010. Malware writers relied on kits infected with Trojans in order to infect unwary users leeching these novelties via Bit-Torrent.

* ATM malware spotted in the wild: Trojan.Skimer.A targets automated teller machines from US manufacturer Diebold. The malicious application creates a virtual 'skimmer' which is capable of recording card details and personal identification numbers without the user's knowledge.

* Fake disinfection tools for the Downadup Internet worm: building on the pandemics triggered by the Downadup worm (about 11 million infections to date), malware authors released fake disinfection tools for the worm that actually would drop miscellaneous malicious files, especially rogue security software.

* Spam has grown to new heights with Canadian Pharmacy ranking as number one spam source.

o Medicine Spam – 519

o Product Spam (replica products) – 6%

o Hardcore pornography – 3%

o Phishing attempts – 7%

o Bundled malware – 6%

* Phishing and identity theft affect about 55,000 computer users per month. The most targeted financial institutions are Bank of America, Paypal and Abbey Bank.

* The first proof-of-concept rootkit targeting the upcoming Windows 7 operating system from Microsoft has been thoroughly documented and licensed under GPL license.

* MAC OS X scareware also witnessed a dramatic boost, indicating that it’s time of Apple users to adopt a platform-specific security solution.

* Social networking and microblogging have also contributed to leveraging social engineering attacks. Apparently harmless games posted on Twitter exposed sensitive credentials allowing attackers to recover victims’ passwords for miscellaneous web services.

Future Outlook

Malware development is a rapidly evolving business, both because this specific niche of software programmers are driven by illicit financial gains and because of technology’s rapid evolution.

Most software companies run an extremely tight schedule from envisioning their products to actually delivering them to their users, in order to maximize sales. However, many times, such applications are not fully tested and proofed against various types of attacks or critical coding flaws. Malware authors rely on these flaws to envision novel approaches for penetrating users’ systems in both home and corporate environments.

Malware distribution via Warez website and torrent downloads will keep an ascending pace as the number of Internet users increase. The so-called “nulled” PHP scripts used for creating virtual communities often contain backdoors allowing unauthorized third parties to seize control over web servers and host malware or use them as spam relays.

Other vulnerable factors in malware distribution schemes are the very end-users – their lack of awareness on the latest trends in the malware landscape can dramatically impact on both their budget and privacy.

Voluntary disclosure of trivial information via Web 2.0 websites or blogging platforms can also help malicious third parties build personal profiles or gather additional data to be used in phishing attempts.