ScanSafe Reports Nearly Half of All Web Traffic in the Workplace is Non-Productive

ScanSafe, the pioneer and leading provider of Web Security-as-a-Service, today issued compelling data on corporate Web usage in its latest monthly Global Threat Report.

Of the Web traffic the company scanned in February, 49 percent was non-productive including requests for gambling, music, porn and Webmail sites. Overall, Web filtering blocks were up 8 percent compared to January. Specifically, the company reported that:

14 percent of blocks were for advertising and promotion

12 percent of blocks were to online chat and Instant Messenger (IM) sites

10 percent of blocks were for Webmail

Music, gambling and pornographic sites each accounted for 4 percent of blocks

Blocks to gambling sites were up 22 percent over January

“Beyond the negative impact on productivity, uncontrolled use of the Web can have serious and costly consequences for businesses of all sizes including exposure to legal liability, disclosure of confidential information, breaches of compliance requirements and unnecessary bandwidth consumption,” said Dan Nadir, vice president, product strategy, ScanSafe.

Nadir added that events such as Valentine’s Day and the Super Bowl tend to drive unproductive Web traffic in the work place. For example, the week prior to the Super Bowl, the company saw a 77 percent increase in U.S.-based requests for gambling and sports-related sites.

The company expects to see a jump in U.S.-based requests for gambling and sports-related sites throughout March during the annual NCAA Division 1 Basketball Championship tournament as users go online to watch live streaming game video, place a bet or just IM with friends about the tournament as part of “March Madness.” Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., a Chicago-based outplacement firm, anticipates that March Madness will result in $3.8 billion in lost worker productivity this year alone.

IM Threats Favor MSN Messenger

In addition to the data on Web filtering, ScanSafe also reported it blocked 24 new IM threats in February, 54 percent of which affected MSN Messenger compared to 21 percent that affected Yahoo! and 17 percent that affected AOL Instant Messenger (AIM).

Over the past 12 months, MSN Messenger has consistently ranked #1 as the most targeted IM platform. Fifty-three percent of all the IM-based threats blocked by ScanSafe in the past year have affected MSN, compared to 41 percent that affected AIM and 29 percent that affected Yahoo!.

Web Malware Declines Slightly, Following January Surge

The company also reported a marginal decline in malware in February. Web viruses remained virtually unchanged in February after increasing 27 percent in January. Spyware and adware blocks decreased 2 percent in February compared to a 26 percent increase the previous month.

“Historically, we see a jump in Web malware in January followed by a slight drop in February,” Nadir said. “Attackers know that malware may have a better chance of being propagated following the New Year when many users are returning from the holiday and haven’t patched their PCs. This seasonality usually corrects itself and we tend to see a steady increase in malware, particularly spyware, as the year progresses.”

The ScanSafe Global Threat Report is based on real-time analysis of more than 6 billion Web requests and more than 12 million Web threats scanned by the company in February and is the largest analysis of Web security threats based on real-world traffic.

The latest ScanSafe Global Threat Report is available online at www.scansafe.com.

About ScanSafe

ScanSafe is the largest global provider of Web Security-as-a-Service, ensuring a safe and productive Internet environment for businesses. ScanSafe solutions keep viruses and spyware off corporate networks and allow businesses to control and secure the use of the Web and instant messaging. As a fully managed service, ScanSafe’s solutions require no hardware, upfront capital costs or maintenance and provide unparalleled real-time threat protection. Powered by its proactive, multilayered Outbreak IntelligenceTM threat detection technology, ScanSafe scans more than 6 billion Web requests and blocks 12 million threats each month for customers in over 30 countries.

Since pioneering the market for Web Security-as-a-Service, ScanSafe continues to deliver innovative Web security solutions, including the introduction of the world’s first early warning system which scans and classifies search engine results based on the presence of malware and unwanted content. In addition to being part of its corporate Web security service, the safe search technology is available to consumers as a free service at www.scandoo.com.

With offices in London and San Mateo, California, ScanSafe is privately owned and financed by Benchmark Capital and Scale Venture Partners. The company received the Info Security Global Product Excellence Award for Best Managed Security Service and was named one of Red Herring’s Top 100 Technology companies. For more information, visit www.scansafe.com.