Over 13,000 malware threats detected every hour in 2020: Report
Cybersecurity products and solutions brand Seqrite has published a new report, according to which over 13,000 malware threats were detected every hour in 2020. Of these, Trojan was the most used malware followed by Infector, Worm, and PUA.
As per the report, total 113 million malware threats were detected in 2020. Of these, 36 million detections were made in the first quarter of the year with January witnessing maximum malware attacks.
With the Covid outbreak, researchers observed new versions of conventional ransomware attacks. Double extortion is one such example. Under it, threat actors not only encrypt but also steal enterprise data. They then ask the victim to pay a ransom.
Researchers at Seqrite also spotted advanced persistent threats (APT) campaigns like Operation SideCopy, Gorgon APT against Government and private sector companies in 2020.
Threat actors behind Operation SideCopy campaign were found misleading the security community by copying tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) that pointed at the Sidewinder APT group.
Crypto-mining was another form of cyber attacks that rose in 2020. These attacks were led by names like Kings Miner (attacks the under patched servers on the internet), Blue Mockingbird (targets public-facing servers with high configurations), and Lemon Duck Miner (a monero crypto-mining malware that converts network resources of an organization into cryptocurrency mining slaves).
The report says that in 2021, these cyber attacks will shift from precaution-based to prevention-driven. “As governments gear up for making vaccination available to masses, attackers are highly likely to leverage this new opportunity by reshaping their attack strategies,” it says.
As per the report, total 113 million malware threats were detected in 2020. Of these, 36 million detections were made in the first quarter of the year with January witnessing maximum malware attacks.
With the Covid outbreak, researchers observed new versions of conventional ransomware attacks. Double extortion is one such example. Under it, threat actors not only encrypt but also steal enterprise data. They then ask the victim to pay a ransom.
Researchers at Seqrite also spotted advanced persistent threats (APT) campaigns like Operation SideCopy, Gorgon APT against Government and private sector companies in 2020.
Threat actors behind Operation SideCopy campaign were found misleading the security community by copying tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) that pointed at the Sidewinder APT group.
Crypto-mining was another form of cyber attacks that rose in 2020. These attacks were led by names like Kings Miner (attacks the under patched servers on the internet), Blue Mockingbird (targets public-facing servers with high configurations), and Lemon Duck Miner (a monero crypto-mining malware that converts network resources of an organization into cryptocurrency mining slaves).
The report says that in 2021, these cyber attacks will shift from precaution-based to prevention-driven. “As governments gear up for making vaccination available to masses, attackers are highly likely to leverage this new opportunity by reshaping their attack strategies,” it says.
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