McAfee Labs 2018 Report Reveals 480 New Threats Per Minute, Sharp Increase in IoT-Focused Malware

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McAfee Labs 2018 Report Reveals 480 New Threats Per Minute, Sharp Increase in IoT-Focused Malware

By CircleID Reporter
December 19, 2018, 6:33 pm PST Views: 15,505 Add Comment

In its latest quarterly report, McAfee Labs has reported seeing an average of 480 new threats per minute and a sharp increase in malware targeting IoT devices. From the report: “IoT devices such as cameras or video recorders have not typically been used for cryptomining because they lack the CPU power of desktop and laptop computers. However, cybercriminals have taken notice of the growing volume and lax security of many IoT devices and have begun to focus on them, harnessing thousands of devices to create a mining super-computer. New malware targeting IoT devices grew 72%, with total malware growing 203% in the last four quarters. New coinmining malware grew nearly 55%, with total malware growing 4,467% in the last four quarters.”

As long as ransoms are paid and relatively easy attacks, such as phishing campaigns, are successful, bad actors will continue to use these techniques, warns Christiaan Beek, lead scientist at McAfee. “Cybercriminals are eager to weaponize vulnerabilities both new and old, and the number of services now available on underground markets has dramatically increased their effectiveness.”

By CircleID Reporter — CircleID’s internal staff reporting on news tips and developing stories. Do you have information the professional Internet community should be aware of? Contact us.
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