According to Mickey Bodaei, CEO of secure browsing specialist Trusteer, whose browser security plug-in is used by a growing number of banks, the shift by Google away from Microsoft could lead to more security problems than it solves.
"Enterprises that are considering shifting to an operating system like Mac or Linux should realize that, although there are less malware programs available against these platforms, the shift will not solve the targeted attacks problem and may even make it worse", he said.
"Mac and Linux are not more secure than Windows. They're less targeted. There is a big difference", he added. Boodaei makes the interesting assertion that this could be an effective way of reducing infection rates for companies that suffer rapid infections.
However, he explained, when it comes to targetted attacks, this approach offers little value and may even increase exposure. "In a targeted attack where criminals decide to target a specific enterprise because they're interested in its data assets, they can very easily learn the type of platform used – for example Mac or Linux – and then build malware that attacks this platform and release it against the targeted enterprise", he said.
The Trusteer CEO went on to say that the security community is years behind when it comes to security products for Mac and Linux. Because of this, he argues that there is much less chance that any security product will be able to effectively detect and block this attack.