13,7% increase in the variety of malware due to web skimmers

In 2019, the number of unique malicious objects (malware) detected by online antivirus λύσεις της Kaspersky αυξήθηκε κατά ένα όγδοο, σε σύγκριση με το προηγούμενο έτος — φθάνοντας τις 24.610.126. Η ανάπτυξη αυτή οφείλεται κατά κύριο λόγο στην αύξηση κατά 187% των web skimmer αρχείων. Άλλες απειλές, όπως τα backdoors και τα τραπεζικά Trojans που εντοπίστηκαν στο εργαστήριο, αυξήθηκαν επίσης, ενώ η παρουσία miners μειώθηκε κατά το ήμισυ.

These trends show a shift in the type of threats used by cyber-attackers looking for more effective ways to target users, according to a report by Kaspersky Statistics of the Year.

In 2018, the only malicious items (including scripts, exploits and executable files) detected by Kaspersky web antivirus solution reached 21.643.946, while this year they reached 24.610.126.

This development represents an increase in the number and variety of HTML pages and scripts with hidden data - usually used by rogue advertisers. More specifically, however, the increase was also caused in part by online skimmers (sometimes referred to as "sniffers") - where scripts are embedded by online store attackers and used to steal users' credit card data from websites.

The increase in the unique files of online skimmers (scripts and HTML) detected by Kaspersky solutions reaches 187%, reaching 510.000.

At the same time, the number of malware detected increased fivefold (an increase of 523%) to 2.660.000 in 2019. Web skimmers also entered the top 20 malicious items detected on the internet, taking 10th place in the overall ranking.

The share of new backdoors and banking Trojan files, among all types of threats detected in the lab, also increased by 134% and 61% to reach 7.644.402 and 739.551 respectively.

Η παρουσία προγραμμάτων που δημιουργούν κρυφά κρυπτονομίσματα στους υπολογιστές των χρηστών (που ονομάζονται «τοπικοί» miners) έχει επίσης μειωθεί σταθερά κατά τη διάρκεια του έτους: ο αριθμός των υπολογιστών των χρηστών που επηρεάζονται από απόπειρες εγκατάστασης προγραμμάτων miningς κρυπτονομισμάτων μειώθηκε κατά 59%, από 5.638.828 σε 2.259.038.

“The volume of cyberattacks has been increasing for years, but in 2019 we saw a clear shift from certain types of attacks being rendered ineffective to those focused on making a clear profit from users. This is partly because users are becoming more aware of threats and how to avoid them, and organizations are steadily becoming more responsible. A good example is the prolettercryptocurrency miners, which have lost popularity due to lower profitability and cryptocurrency's fight against clandestine mining. This year, we also observed an increase in zero-day exploits, showing that products remain vulnerable and are being used by attackers for sophisticated attacks, and this trend is likely to continue in the future," says Vyacheslav Zakorzhevsky, Head of Anti-Malware Research at Kaspersky.

*Share of all attacks on-line malicioussoftware (malware) that detectsthey were on users' computers

More information can be found on the dedicated website Securelist.com.

To stay protected, Kaspersky recommends the following:

• Pay close attention and do not open suspicious files or attachments you receive from unknown sources.
• Do not download and install applications from unreliable sources.
• Do not click on links received from unknown sources and suspicious web ads.
• Make strong passwords and do not forget to change them regularly.
• Always install updates. Some of them may contain fixes for critical security issues.
• Ignore messages asking you to disable security systems for office software or antivirus software.
• Use a strong security solution suitable for your system type and your devices.