As someone working in the lab of an antivirus company, I've often been asked if we are the ones that create viruses. Not only the journalists, but even my friends and family have been asking me about this for a while.
I'm bringing this issue up because several months ago I received a call from a journalist who asked me if we were somehow involved in the creation and / or distribution of a virus that was spreading in Asia, specifically in China. It was designed to steal users' information belonging to online games, but it had a curious payload; it changed the icons of certain files to the image of a panda:
Obviously, it wasn't us who created this virus and to certify it (and to avoid more calls about this issue 😉 today the virus creator and his henchmen have been sentenced to several years in jail.
Panda Security specializes in the development of endpoint security products and is part of the WatchGuard portfolio of IT security solutions. Initially focused on the development of antivirus software, the company has since expanded its line of business to advanced cyber-security services with technology for preventing cyber-crime.
