Abingdon, 29 June 2012 - UK businesses are displaying a worrying lack of understanding when it comes to securing their virtual environments, according to a study by internet security specialists Kaspersky Lab.

The study, conducted globally among businesses with 100 or more IT workstations, found that a shocking one third of companies surveyed admitted that they only invest in security for physical environments, leaving their virtual platforms dangerously vulnerable to attack[1].

In addition to this 42 per cent of companies believed their virtual servers were more secure than physical ones - despite the fact that one in three of those surveyed admitted their knowledge of virtualization was only ‘basic’. These facts combined point towards a worrying lack of knowledge among IT professionals, which may be putting the benefits of virtualization at risk.

Peter Beardmore, Senior Director of Products and Services from Kaspersky Lab, said: “There is no doubt that the business benefits of virtualization are huge – both in terms of cost and accessibility. But underestimating the security risks puts businesses of all sizes in a perilous position.

“The lack of knowledge shown by IT professionals is the main culprit, so businesses really need to invest in understanding the concept of virtualization. Basic knowledge is simply not sufficient when the security of your business is at stake. The industry needs to wake up to this situation and invest in adequate security solutions alongside a comprehensive education programme.”

To help companies reap the productivity and efficiency benefits of virtual IT with none of the security risks and complications, Kaspersky Lab has developed Kaspersky Security for Virtualization.

The new solution integrates seamlessly with the rest of Kaspersky Lab’s corporate security suite, and can also be managed centrally from Kaspersky Security Centre 9. Its introduction means that Kaspersky Lab can now offer customers a single, unified management and security platform across their entire virtual, physical and mobile environments.

More information on the full portfolio of Kaspersky Lab corporate security products can be found at http://www.kaspersky.com/beready.

[1] Global virtualisation B2B study, Kaspersky Lab, March 2012