The report finds significant increases in the volume of threats against both businesses and consumers and details the most interesting and impactful methods of malware creation and distribution in all of 2017. Data was also obtained from Malwarebytes’ internal honeypots and collection efforts to identify not only infection, but also malware distribution. To better understand how cybercriminals are evolving their threats and tactics, Malwarebytes researchers analyzed security threat telemetry from January 2016 to November 2017. Each year, we spend countless hours providing analysis on the methodologies, tactics and tools being used by cybercriminals to help our customers and partners protect against the most rampant and prolific threats affecting businesses and consumers worldwide.” For example, spyware is up 30 percent and hijackers are up 40 percent. “What cybercriminals could not hold for ransom, they stole from businesses. “Ransomware continued to dominate in 2017, with this tool of choice for hackers increasing 90 percent from the previous year,” said Marcin Kleczynski, Malwarebytes CEO. Most of the work is being done by a handful of active adware developers for Windows, macOS and Android.
This includes a significant increase of miners through compromised websites, malicious spam, exploit kit drops and adware bundlers. Driven by the cryptocurrency craze, bad actors have started utilizing cryptomining tools for their own profit, using victim’s personal computers in the process.2017 saw a massive increase in the malicious use of cryptominers.WannaCry surged 375 percent from August 2017 to September 2017.GlobeImposter increased 341 percent from July 2017 to August 2017.Between July 2017 and September 2017, there was a 700 percent increase in ransomware, according to Malwarebytes’ telemetry, with two families making up most of that statistic:.The monthly rate of ransomware attacks increased up to 10 times the rate of 2016, with September 2017 having the largest volume of ransomware attacks against businesses ever documented.Ransomware against consumers went up more than 93 percent while ransomware against businesses increased 90 percent.Ransomware was the tool of choice for cybercriminals in 2017.Key findings from the 2017 report include:
The report illustrates sharp increases in malware-based cybercrime, including ransomware, banking Trojans, spyware, adware, cryptocurrency miners and others were detected across all victims. The findings, presented in the Malwarebytes Cybercrime Tactics and Techniques: 2017 State of Malware Report, illustrate a significant shift in attack methodology, a distinct evolution in the predominant attack tools and a distinct divergence in the types of attacks against businesses from attacks against consumers.
– January 25, 2018 – Malwarebytes™, the leading advanced malware prevention and remediation solution, today released a security research report analyzing the top malware threats for 2017. Cybercriminals increased their usage of banking Trojans and hijackers to steal data from businesses.2017 saw a massive increase in the malicious use of cryptominers with Malwarebytes blocking an average of 8 million drive-by mining attempts per day.Ransomware was the tool of choice for cybercriminals in 2017 and ransomware attacks increased up to 10 times.Report reveals significant changes in cybercriminal methodology, including: Malwarebytes Annual State of Malware Report Reveals Ransomware Detections Increased More Than 90 Percent