Backdoors Up 44%, Ransomware Up 43% from 2017

Nearly one in three computers was hit with a malware attack this year, and ransomware and backdoors continue to pose a risk.

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Backdoor and ransomware detections increased 44% and 43%, respectively, in 2018, the same year nearly 30% of computers faced at least one malicious threat online, researchers report.

The Kaspersky Security Bulletin 2018 found malware should be among everyone’s top concerns as we head into the new year. Kaspersky Labs handled 346,000 new malicious files each day in the first 10 months of 2018 and detected 21,643,946 unique malicious objects this year.

Backdoor detections made up 3.7% of all new malicious files analyzed by Kaspersky Lab researchers in the first 10 months of 2018, increasing from 2.27 million to 3.26 million year over year. Ransomware (Trojan-ransom) detections made up 3.5%, up from 2.2 million detections to 3.13 million.

Trojans made up half of all new malicious files analyzed. Researchers point to banking malware and malicious programs for ATMs and point-of-sale terminals, as a threat to watch. This year, Kaspersky tools blocked attempts to deploy one or more money-stealing programs on 830,135 devices.

While sophisticated APT groups are largley focused on corporate data theft, Kaspersky Lab researchers say the bulk of cybercrime is focused on financial theft.

Read more: Dark Reading