The third quarter of 2024 has revealed a worrying panorama in terms of cybersecurity: the 300% increase in malware detections for Endpoints. This is warned by the report “Internet Security Report” by Watchguard Threat Lab, where it also emphasizes that the increase is largely due to social engineering tactics that attackers use to exploit websites and legitimate documents for malicious purposes.
Traditionally, Microsoft documents such as Word and Excel have been used to deceive users and download malicious software. However, the antimacro protections in these files have led the attackers to resort to the Onenote files to distribute QBOT, a remote access botnet Trojan.
«Our report shows a drastic change between the threats of traditional and evasive malware. This illustrates how quickly the panorama of threats can evolve, so it is crucial Watchguard Technologies security.
Malware for Endpoints
The report reveals the new attacks on the vulnerabilities of WordPress plug-ins. Cybercounts explode these weaknesses to take control of websites and use their reputation to house malicious downloads such as Socgholish. This malware cheats users with false alerts to update their browsers, resulting in the execution of malicious software. Since WordPress houses more than 488.6 million websites, which represents 43% of all Internet sites, the magnitude of this threat is considerable.
The new Watchguard Threat Lab report detects a 300% increase in malware for Endpoints, since cybercriminals are aimed at web services and legitimate documents
The THREAT LAB also observed an increase in the use of cryptocurrencies, malicious programs that are hidden in user devices and use their resources to undermine cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. With the resurgence of the value and popularity of cryptocurrencies, mining malware has also gained ground.
Other important reports of the report include a 40% increase in signatures based detections, reflecting the growing use of social engineering tactics by attackers. The EMEA region concentrated 53% of all malware attacks by volume, doubling the previous quarter, while the Asia-Pacific region recorded 59% of network attack detections.
Despite a 15% decrease in malware attacks compared to the previous quarter, the attackers have resorted to a greater variety of techniques to infect devices. Only 20% of malware detections eluded signatures-based detection methods, which represents a significant change in the detection of Zero-Day malware.
Although ransomware has shown a downward trend in recent quarters, the report indicates an increase in the number of ransomware operators in the third quarter of 2024. The attackers have used a broader variety of existing tactics to deliver ransomware, in place to create new paths of attack.
