by SAVIOUS KWINIKA
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – THE distribution of malicious files online is projected to shoot up this year considering how quickly the threat landscape is expanding its boundaries and the number of new devices appearing in users’ daily lives.
This setback would be a continuation of trends experienced in 2022 as Kaspersky’s detection systems discovered on average 400 000 malicious files distributed every day, indicating a 5 percent growth compared to 2021.
“It’s quite possible that in 2023 we’ll be detecting not 400,000 malicious files per day, but half a million!” said Vladimir Kuskov, head of anti-malware research at Kaspersky.
“Even more dangerous is that, with the development of Malware-as-a-Service, any novice fraudster can now attack devices without any technical knowledge in programming. Becoming a cybercriminal has never been so easy.”
Kuskov advised that it is essential not only for large organisations but also for every ordinary user to employ reliable security solutions, thus avoid falling a victim of cybercriminals.
The number of certain types of threats also escalated in 2022.
Kaspersky’s detection systems discovered an average of 403 000 new malicious files daily between January and October 2022. By comparison, about 380 000 of these files were detected every day in 2021.
In total, Kaspersky’s systems detected approximately 122 million malicious files in 2022, which 6 million more than in 2021.
Researchers discovered that the share of ransomware encountered daily increased by 181 percent compared to 2021, reaching 9 500 encrypting files per day. Kaspersky security solutions also detected the 142 percent growth in the share of Downloaders.
Windows continued to be the prime target of attacks among all platforms with 320 000 malicious files attacking Windows devices.
The share of malicious files in Microsoft Office formats distributed daily doubled (236 percent of growth).
Experts also identified a 10 percent increase in the share of malicious files targeting the Android platform daily.
The infamous 2022 campaigns Harly and Triada Trojan, which ambushed thousands of Android users around the world, are prime examples of this trend.
– CAJ News