SANTA CLARA, Calif. & MCLEAN, Va.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–McAfeeand Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)[NYSE:SAI] today announced findings from a global study on thesecurity of information economies. In the study, “UndergroundEconomies: Intellectual Capital and Sensitive Corporate Data Nowthe Latest Cybercrime Currency,” security experts and senior ITdecision makers illustrate how cybercriminals have made the shiftfrom stealing personal information, to targeting the corporateintellectual capital of some of the most well-known globalorganizations. Cybercriminals understand there is greater value inselling a corporations' proprietary information and trade secretswhich have little to no protection making intellectual capitaltheir new currency of choice.

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The cyber underground economy is making its money on the theftof corporate intellectual capital which includes trade secrets,marketing plans, research and development findings and even sourcecode. McAfee and SAIC collaborated with Vanson Bourne to survey more than 1,000 senior IT decisionmakers in the U.S., U.K., Japan, China, India, Brazil and theMiddle East. The study is a follow up to a report released in 2008called “UnsecuredEconomies.” The new study reveals the changes in attitudes andperceptions of intellectual property protection in the last twoyears. The findings revealed which countries were perceived as theleast safe to store corporate data, the rate at which organizationsare experiencing breaches and the response rate to prevent orremediate data breaches.

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“Cybercriminals have shifted their focus from physical assets todata driven properties, such as trade secrets or product planningdocuments,” said Simon Hunt, vice president and chief technologyofficer, Endpoint Security, McAfee. “We've seen significant attackstargeting this type of information. Sophisticated attacks such asOperation Aurora, and even unsophisticated attacks like NightDragon, have infiltrated some of the largest and seemingly mostprotected corporations in the world. Criminals are targetingcorporate intellectual capital and they are often succeeding.”

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“The distinction between insiders and outsiders is blurring,”said Scott Aken, vice president for cyber operations at SAIC. “Sophisticated attackers infiltrate anetwork, steal valid credentials on the network, and operate freely– just as an insider would. Having defensive strategies againstthese blended insider threats is essential, and organizations needinsider threat tools that can predict attacks based on humanbehavior.”

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Key findings from this year's report include the following:

  • Impact of Data Breaches – A quarter oforganizations have had a merger/acquisition and, or a newproduct/solution roll-out stopped or slowed by a data breach, orthe credible threat of a data breach. If an organizationexperienced a data breach, only half of those organizations tooksteps to remediate and protect systems from future breaches.
  • Organizations Are Looking to Store IntellectualProperty Abroad – The economic downturn has resulted in anincrease of organizations reassessing the risks of processing dataoutside their home country, in search of cheaper options, withapproximately half of organizations surveyed responding they woulddo so, an overall increase since 2008. Approximately one third oforganizations are looking to increase the amount of sensitiveinformation they store abroad, up from one in five two yearsago.
  • Cost of securing data abroad – In China,Japan, U.K. and the U.S., organizations are spending more than $1million a day on their IT. In the U.S., China, and India,organizations are spending more than $1 million per week onsecuring sensitive information abroad.
  • Geographic Threat Perceptions to Intellectual Property– China, Russia, Pakistan are perceived to be the leastsafe for data storage, and the United Kingdom, Germany and theUnited States are perceived to be the most safe. Of the globalorganizations surveyed however, a large amount of organizations arenot conducting frequent risk assessments, while more than a quarterof organizations asses the threats or risks posed to their dataonly twice a year or less.
  • Organizations Keeping Quiet about Data Breaches– Only three in ten organizations report all data breachessuffered, and six in ten organizations currently “pick and choose”the breaches they report. The report also shows that organizationsmay seek out countries with more lenient disclosure laws, witheight in ten organizations that store sensitive information abroadinfluenced by privacy laws requiring notification of data breachesto customers.
  • Device Management a Current Challenge – One ofthe greatest challenges organizations face when managinginformation security is the proliferation of devices, such asiPads, iPhones and Androids. Securing mobile devices continues tobe a pain point for most organizations, with 62 percent ofrespondents identifying this as a challenge. Concurrently, thereport shows the most significant threat reported by organizationswhen protecting sensitive information is data leaks.

To download “Underground Economies: Intellectual Capital andSensitive Corporate Data Now the Latest Cybercrime Currency,”please visit http://www.mcafee.com/us/resources/reports/rp-underground-economies.pdf.

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About McAfee
McAfee, a wholly owned subsidiary of Intel Corporation(NASDAQ:INTC), is the world's largest dedicated security technologycompany. McAfee delivers proactive and proven solutions andservices that help secure systems, networks, and mobile devicesaround the world, allowing users to safely connect to the Internet,browse and shop the Web more securely. Backed by its unrivaledGlobal Threat Intelligence, McAfee creates innovative products thatempower home users, businesses, the public sector and serviceproviders by enabling them to prove compliance with regulations,protect data, prevent disruptions, identify vulnerabilities, andcontinuously monitor and improve their security. McAfee isrelentlessly focused on constantly finding new ways to keep ourcustomers safe.. http://www.mcafee.com

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About SAIC
SAIC is a FORTUNE 500(R) scientific, engineering, and technologyapplications company that uses its deep domain knowledge to solveproblems of vital importance to the nation and the world, innational security, energy and the environment, criticalinfrastructure, and health. The company's approximately 43,000employees serve customers in the U.S. Department of Defense, theintelligence community, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security,other U.S. Government civil agencies and selected commercialmarkets. Headquartered in McLean, Va., SAIC had annual revenues of$10.8 billion for its fiscal year ended January 31, 2010. For moreinformation, visit http://www.saic.com/ . SAIC: From Science to Solutions (R)

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NOTE: McAfee is a registered trademark or trademark of McAfee orits subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. Othermarks may be claimed as the property of others.

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