'WatchGuard recently released their Quarterly Internet Security Report which mainly focuses on the internet and network security threats faced by small organizations and business. The report states that nearly 30 percent of all malware cannot be detected by any of the traditional Antivirus Software. All these malware threats are either new or zero-day exploits so the antivirus software with old signatures cannot identify them.
WatchGuard further reported that almost all the major malware in the world mainly targets the victims in China and United States while the percentage of malware and network attacks in the APAC region is only six percent and one percent which is considerably low.
WatchGuard in the 4th quarter of 2016 blocked nearly 18.7 million malware attacks and 30.4 million network attacks.
Security Brief AU reported that Corey Nachreiner, the CTO of WatchGuard has said, "WatchGuard Threat Lab has been instrumental in monitoring the different malware threats and network attacks across the world for many years. Now with the use of Firebox feed that is deployed across the world which collects random information about all the new malware threats, WatchGuard provides detailed and thorough information on all the new cyber-attacks and network attacks and when they evolve."
As said earlier, since 30 percent of all malware are new and cannot be detected by the traditional antivirus software, the security industries fail to provide counter attack to the cybercriminals new methods of exploitation.
WatchGuard has stated that the organizations need advanced security applications to get rid of these new malware attacks.
What are the highlights of the report released by WatchGuard?
Below are some of the highlights found in the WatchGuard Quarterly Internet Security report.
- Some of the macro based malware that is most frequently used by the attackers for targeting the victims are spear-phishing emails that contain malicious documents attached to them and the new format of Microsoft document.
- Attackers still make use of javascript for exploiting the victim's network as they are more vulnerable to cyber-attacks. The number of malware attacks on the javascript in email and internet is found to have increased in recent years as per the WatchGuard Firebox feed.
- IoT devices that run on Linux are more prone to Trojans.
- Cyber-criminals mainly target banks by making use of PHP shells and malicious web shells to attack the web servers.
- Most of the network attacks are carried out over web browsers, and it is found that nearly 73 percent of the cyber-attacks target the web browser for affecting the victims PC.
What are the tips offered by WatchGuard to protect against the malware attacks?
WatchGuard has offered some tips for organizations to protect themselves against these dangerous malware attacks.
- Apart from maintaining an advanced security application, it is important to follow best security practices and always turn on the firewall.
- Create awareness about all the latest malware threats like malicious macros present in MS office and emails to the employees of the organization.
- Use an advanced and up to date antivirus software for protection.
- It is advised to update all the software and antivirus solution in your IoT devices frequently.
