A significant increase in the number of malicious attacks on computers and mobile devices was observed in 2014, according to Kaspersky Lab. There was also a further increase in financial malware, as well as a change in the actors of online attacks.
Based on the company's statistics, 2014 has been structured in numbers as follows:
- Kaspersky Lab's antivirus products prevented 6.2 billion malicious attacks on users' computers and mobile devices. This is an increase of one billion compared to 2013.
- 38% of computers faced at least one cyber attack during the year.
- 44% of cyber attacks neutralized by Kaspersky Lab products were carried out using malicious online resources based in the US (27.5% of all attacks), Germany (16.6%) and the Netherlands (13.4%).
- Attempts to steal money through online access to bank accounts were blocked on nearly 2,000,000 user computers.
- Kaspersky Lab products protected their users from 3.9 million online attacks per day, on average.
- Kaspersky Lab's web antivirus detected more than 123 million unique malicious objects: 74% of them were found in malicious URLs.
- Kaspersky Lab products blocked a total of 3.7 million attempts to “infect” computers with OS X software.
- An average Mac user faced 9 threats during the year.
- Kaspersky Lab solutions blocked 1.4 million attacks on Android devices, four times more than in 2013.
The number of the year
Every day, Kaspersky Lab's Anti-Malware Research team processes 325,000 new malicious files per day, that is, 10,000 more compared to last year and 125,000 more than in 2012.
Every day, more than 1.6 million different files are processed by Kaspersky Lab’s Anti-Malware Research team. Almost 20%, or one in five, are dangerous. There was a 3.17% increase in the number of malicious files detected in 2014 compared to the same period in 2013. The previous 12 months (2012 – 2013) saw an increase of more than 50%. According to Kaspersky Lab experts, this sharp decrease in the growth rate reflects a significant change in the tactics used by online fraudsters to “infect” computers.
Vyacheslav Zakorzhevsky, Head of Kaspersky Lab's Anti-Malware Research team, said:
“We are seeing a very interesting trend in the malware landscape. More and more often, criminals are using spear-phishing messages, i.e. spam emails targeting a very specific group, such as gamers or online banking users. Previously, this technique was used almost exclusively by advanced threat actors. However, spear-phishing has now become quite common and is also used by less experienced cybercriminals. This allows them to carry out less massive and less noticeable attacks. However, security solutions provided by Kaspersky Lab consistently detect such types of attacks.”
Mobile threats
- 295,500 new mobile malware, 2.8 times more than in 2013
- 12,100 mobile banking Trojans, 9 times more than in 2013
- 53% of attacks involved mobile Trojans targeting users' money (SMS-Trojans, banking Trojans)
- 19% of Android device users encountered a mobile threat at least once during the year.
- Mobile malware attacks recorded in more than 200 countries worldwide
Roman Unuchek, Senior Mobile Malware Analyst at Kaspersky Lab, said:
“2011 was the year that mobile malware was specifically designed for Android devices, in 2012 this landscape grew and in 2013 it matured. In 2014, mobile malware focused on financial issues. The number of mobile banking Trojans was nine times higher than in 2013 and the growth in this area continues at an alarming rate.”
Economic threats
Fraudsters specializing in mobile financial malware were probably inspired by their more experienced “colleagues” who have been stealing money via personal computers for years. Zeus remains the most widespread banking Trojan, with ChePro and Lohmys coming in second and third place respectively. Three-quarters of attacks targeting users’ money were carried out using malicious banking software, but these were not the only financial threats. Theft of “bitcoin wallets” was the second most popular banking threat (14%). Also, bitcoin “mining software” (10%) is another threat that targets the digital currency, using computing resources to create bitcoins.
Maria Garnaeva, Security Specialist in Kaspersky Lab's Global Research and Analysis Team, commented:
“One of the most effective ways to infiltrate malware onto users’ computers is by exploiting vulnerabilities in Java and browsers such as Explorer, Firefox, etc. In addition, cybercriminals continue to use exploits for vulnerabilities in Adobe Reader. These “infection” techniques remain popular, simply because social engineering techniques are still effective. Every year, we see how cybercriminals use more and more inventive ways to lure their victims. That is why recipients are still willing to read a seemingly harmless email from an unexpected source and then open attachments or follow links that expose them to malware.”
The full report is available at Securelist.com.
Source: techgear.gr
