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According to its Internet Security Threat Report, 711,912 new threats were recorded in 2007 compared with 125,243 in 2006, pushing the total number of malicious programs detected to 1,122,311 - representing a staggering increase of 468%.

The report notes that the majority of these viruses are aimed at Windows machines, and are variations on existing themes as hackers seek to adapt their code to either exploit flaws in software or react to new virus definitions.

"The significant increase

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in new threats over the past year is also indicative of the increasing professionalisation of malicious code and the existence of organisations that employ programmers dedicated to the production of these threats," notes the report.

"A group of programmers can create a larger number of new threats than can a single malicious code author. Many of these threats can be used for financial gain ... these proceeds can then be used to pay the programmers to continue creating new threats."

And those hoping antivirus firms will get a handle on the problem will be disappointed, with Kaspersky predicting a ten fold increase in malware during 2008, and its not just the quantity that's alarming.

"In addition to the quantity, the quality of malicious programs is also improving," warns David Emm, senior technology consultant at Kaspersky Lab.

"Complex samples, such as the notorious Zhelatin [the Storm Worm], are emerging that demonstrate a wide range of hostile behaviour and distribution methods."

The problem has already caused IBM to claim a fundamental shift in approach to security issues is required from the industry.