A recent Kaspersky report showed that during 2023, there was a significant increase of 53% in daily cyber threats targeting Microsoft Office.
In fact, the company said that an average of 411,000 malicious files per day (this year), indicating an overall increase of almost 3% compared to the previous year.
Kaspersky's research shows that cybercriminals placed a strong emphasis on Microsoft Office and other document formats.
The increase in malicious files in document formats such as Microsoft Office and PDF, totaling approximately 24,000 files, is related to the increase in phishing attacks that use deceptive PDF and are primarily aimed at stealing sensitive data.
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While Trojans remain the most prevalent malware, the report notes a significant increase in backdoor usage. Daily backdoor have increased significantly. While 15,000 malicious files related to backdoor distribution were detected in 2022, 40,000 were detected in 2023.With this type of malware, cybercriminals gain remote control over victims’ systems.
Vladimir Kuskov, head of research at Kaspersky, highlighted the evolving cyber threat landscape.
“The cyber threat landscape continues to evolve and become more dangerous year after year. Attackers continue to develop new malware, techniques and methods to attack organizations and individuals,” the executive said.
Kuskov said that attacks are continuing to be successful thanks to artificial intelligence (AI). Attackers are leveraging AI to create more convincing text in phishing emails.
“In these times, it is important for both large organizations and users to adopt reliable security solutions,” the security expert added.
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In light of these growing threats, Kaspersky advised users to remain vigilant. Additional recommendations include avoiding downloading apps from untrusted sources, avoiding clicking on dubious links, and creating strong, unique passwords that include a mix of lowercase and uppercase letters, numbers, and special characters . Two-factor authentication (2FA) should also be implemented where possible
Additionally, users should be cautious with emails and file attachments they receive. They should verify the authenticity of senders and not open files that come from unknown sources or that look suspicious.
Regular updates are also vital for device security.
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Finally, using reliable security software is important to protect data and devices. Users should install an antivirus program and update it regularly to detect and prevent attacks.
Source: www.infosecurity-magazine.com
