Can Adobe beat back hackers?
For years, Adobe Systems has occupied a quiet corner of the personal-computer industry. Photographers and designers use its software to clean up photos and set up Web sites. Workers everywhere trade electronic documents formatted with Adobe’s programs, often without knowing the company behind the software. Now Adobe is attracting the unwanted attention of hackers–and security experts are concerned the company isn’t doing enough to repel assaults. So far this year, Adobe has released nine security updates for the current version of its Acrobat Reader software, up from four in 2008, said Moscow security firm Kaspersky Lab. Adobe appears to have replaced Microsoft as the primary means by which hackers try to infect or take control of PCs. “Adobe at the moment is the main target,” said Roel Schouwenberg, a Kasperky senior antivirus researcher in Woburn. Historically, Adobe hasn’t had to contend with attacks, so it hasn’t been focused on potential weaknesses. But as Microsoft has toughened
