(CNN) – Companies are struggling to fend off cyber attacks as hackers get faster, sneakier and more creative.
New reports from the Internet security teams at Symantec and Verizon provide an alarming picture of how difficult it’s becoming for computer users to stay safe online.
Last year was a big one for high-profile cybercrime, from the Heartbleed bug to major corporate attacks, and Sony’s embarrassing hack.
Symantec’s analysis of security threats in 2014 revealed thieves are working faster than companies can defend themselves, and launching more malicious attacks than in previous years.
More than 317 million new pieces of malware — computer viruses or other malicious software — were created last year. That means nearly one million new threats were released each day.