(Angela Moscaritolo, SecureComputing) This year, enterprises must have the appropriate protection in place to secure their organization from internet and removable storage device malware in their environments, according to David Marcus, director of security research and communication for McAfee Avert Labs.

McAfee's “2009 Threat Predictions” report forecasts the most dangerous IT security risks for the year ahead, some of which include web-based malware. Accordingly, organizations must realize that more malware than ever is being created and distributed via the internet through Web 2.0 sites, such as Facebook and MySpace.

“Unless you are looking at that vector, it's a question of when the malware will enter the environment,” Marcus said."Businesses must analyze employee use of the internet to determine behavior, then make sure they have appropriate protections in place to secure their organization from malware."

In addition, the incidence of malware distributed through removable storage devices, including USB sticks and cameras, has increased, and this threat is expected to continue this year. The same study finds that, for organizations, this threat represents an accident waiting to happen.