News

Soaring ransomware payments, consistent infections, deceptive URLs and more in this year’s 2022 BrightCloud® Threat Report

Cyber threats are becoming increasingly difficult to detect. Cybercriminals are also becoming experts in deception. What does this mean for your business? How can you keep your family members safe online and reassure your customers you are protecting their data?

Our threat research analysts have complied the latest threat intelligence data to bring you the most cutting-edge and insightful information about the most recent cyber threats and what they mean for you.

Below is a summary and sneak peek from the full report.

Malware

Whether you operate a business or spend time online surfing the web, malware remains a concern. In the last year, 86% of malware remained unique to a PC, which has been consistent for the past few years. This implies attackers are obtaining a level of consistency in what they do to avoid being caught.

While the goal of spreading infection is top of mind for a bad actor, infection rates are not equal. When we examined the trends between businesses and consumers, there are some marked differences:

  • 53% of consumer PCs were infected more than once, but businesses lag behind migrating from Windows 7, leaving them more suspectable to infection.
  • For medium-sized organizations (21 to 100 licensed PCs) infection rates are just over one-third (34%), infecting nine PCs on average.
  • The manufacturing, public administration and information sectors experienced higher-than-average infection rates.

If your business falls within these industries or if you’re concerned your personal PC could be prone to infection, read the complete section on malware in the 2022 BrightCloud® Threat Report. It’s chock full of insights into the differences in infection rates by type of PC, region and industry.

Skyrocketing ransomware payments will cost more than just your revenue

If you’re a small business owner, you don’t need to be told that you’ve suffered immensely throughout the pandemic. Exposure to ransomware is just another element you’ve had to consider. Ransomware continues to plague small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs). While this is not a new revelation, the smallest organizations, those with 100 employees or less, accounted for 44% of ransomware victims last year.

That’s nearly half.

Why do cybercriminals focus on SMBs? Attacks on larger enterprises and state-owned entities bring a level of publicity and attention that makes it harder for bad actors to achieve their goal of a financial payout. SMBs, given the lack of resources to respond, are more likely to pay and pay a lot. The year-end average for 2021 more than doubled the 2020 average, reaching $322,168. With limited resources at their disposal, the smallest of organizations are faced with tough decisions ahead when it comes to making ransomware payments and disclosing their decision to do so.

Law enforcement agencies are starting to gain headway on ransomware gangs. To learn how countries are banding together to shutdown notorious groups like REvil and DarkSide, check out the ransomware section of the full report.

High-risk URLs are phishing for your data in the most benign of locations

We discovered four million new high-risk URLs were in existence in 2021. To make matters worse, almost 66% of them involved phishing. Cybercriminals look to certain times of the year to execute their attacks. They are also keen to impersonate well-known brands to lure you into clicking on malicious links. Our complete list of top brands that are most impersonated is available in the phishing section of our full report.

­­­Thwarting cyber threats through cyber resilience

“Businesses’ ability to prepare for and recover from threats will increase as they integrate cyber resilience into their technologies, processes, and people,” said Mark J. Barrenechea, OpenText CEO & CTO. “With security risks escalating worldwide and a persistent state of ‘unprecedented’ threats, compromises are inevitable. This year’s findings reiterate the need for organizations to deploy strong multi-layered security defenses to help them remain at the heart of cyber resilience and circumvent even the most creative cybercriminals.”

Our full report helps you uncover the latest cyber trends powered by our BrightCloud® Threat Intelligence platform.

To learn more and empower your cyber know-how, download the 2022 BrightCloud® Threat Report.

By Grayson Milbourne

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published.

You may also like

Business Economy Society Software Technology

The critical role of data in debt recovery amid surge in consumer debt

post-image

 

 

As South Africans and their pockets are impacted by rising inflation, cost-of-living increases, and a spate of interest rate hikes over the past two years, consumer debt has surged at an alarming rate. More people are turning to credit facilities to keep up with daily expenses, with worrying knock-on effects for businesses and the entire South African economy.

 

With a renewed focus on debt recovery processes and procedures, businesses need to ensure they have the most reliable, up-to-date information available to assist with recovering outstanding monies. “As the cost of borrowing escalates, and the average South African consumer finds themselves allocating approximately 62% of their take-home pay towards servicing debt, the need for efficient, effective debt recovery strategies is a crucial consideration for any business extending credit,” explains Chantelle Frier, National Sales Manager of SearchWorks, South Africa’s largest and most innovative data aggregation platform that allows users to conduct…

Read More
Announcements Business Culture Events

NITDA Celebrates Exceptional Women Staff Members in Commemoration of International Women’s Day 2024

post-image

In honor of International Women’s Day 2024, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) proudly recognized the invaluable contributions of its female staff members during the Quarterly Staff General Meeting.

Led by the esteemed Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa CCIE, the event served as a platform to commend and honor female staff members whose remarkable efforts have significantly contributed to the agency’s accomplishments. In a gesture of appreciation and acknowledgment, Director-General Kashifu Inuwa CCIE presented letters of commendation to these outstanding women, underscoring NITDA’s unwavering commitment to fostering inclusivity and empowering women within the agency.

The Quarterly Staff General Meeting not only celebrated the achievements of these exceptional women but also reaffirmed NITDA’s dedication to recognizing and nurturing talent across all gender identities. As an agency at the forefront of technological innovation, NITDA remains steadfast in its mission to create an inclusive and equitable workplace where every…

Read More
Business Events Fintech

PAFON 1.0: Experts Harp on Stricter Data Privacy Measures in Payments Ecosystem in AI Era

post-image

·      Tasks Payments System Operators on the Need for Consumer Education

 

The Chairman of the Committee of Chief Information Security Officers of Nigerian Financial Institutions (CCISONFI), Mr. Festus Amede, has identified Data Minimization Principles, User Consent and Control, as well as Compliance with Privacy Regulations as important elements in protecting privacy in payments.

 

Amede who was represented by an executive member of CCISONFI, Mr. Olusola Odediran (also, the Chief Information Security Officer) Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), spoke during his keynote presentation at the maiden edition of Payments Forum Nigeria (PAFON 1.0) held at Oriental Hotel, Lagos on Thursday.

 

His presentation themed, ‘Payments: Trust, Security and Privacy in the AI Era,’ explored the critical…

Read More
Business Economy

Nigeria Seeks Joint West Africa Regional Protection of Undersea Cables

post-image

 

 

Following recent undersea cable cuts that challenged connectivities in many countries in the West African region, Nigeria has called for a coordinated and multilateral approach by the region to protect shared telecommunications infrastructure, and diversify connectivity to ensure uninterruptible connections.

 

Executive Vice Chairman of the  Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida, made the submission in a statement delivered at the 21st West Africa Telecommunications Regulatory Assembly (WATRA) Annual General Meeting (AGM) which held in Freetown, Sierra Leone, from the 19th to 22nd March 2024.

 

Dr. Maida, whose message was delivered at the WATRA AGM by the Deputy Director, Public Affairs of the Commission, Nnenna Ukoha, stated that the recent submarine cable cuts that resulted in nationwide outages on multiple networks in 12 African countries has raised the urgent need for the subregion to establish a mechanism to protect itself from damage to submarine infrastructure and its attendant impact on the…

Read More
Business Opinion Technology Technology Trends

WHY HYUNDAI AND KIA HAVE ONE OF THE BEST FUEL ECONOMY

post-image

 

 

I watched one video yesterday when one of my brother Uncle IB did some review on Hyundai Sonata so i decided to throw more light on it.

Hyundai and Kia are so much underated in Nigeria and the reason is lack of information. Hyundai and Kia are the most fuel efficient vehicles but most people are not aware.
They use more advanced engine technology on and that’s why they use smaller engines to push out much power with less fuel.

They make use of technology like:
▪︎CVVT (Continously variable valve timing)
▪︎DPFI (Dual port fuel injection)
▪︎ITMS (Integrated Thermal Management System)
▪︎HTCS (High Thermal Conversion system)
▪︎FOMS (Friction optimized moving system)
▪︎ High Ignition Energy EGR
▪︎Smartstream Transmission.
▪︎Wet 8 – Speed DCT.

Hyundai and Kia make use of smartstream engines. Engines like GDi produce high power and good for high driving speed conditions while engines like MPi are smoother with less power…

Read More
Business

NDPC to Partner Ondo to Upskill Youths, Create Jobs in Data Protection

post-image

The Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has expressed its readiness to work with the Ondo state government to promote a culture of Data Protection that would also help create employment opportunities for young people in the state.

The National Commissioner/CEO of NDPC, Dr Vincent Olatunji, revealed this when he received his excellency, the Ondo state Deputy Governor, Olayide Adelami, at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja on Friday.

Dr Olayide said the purpose of his visit was to explore possible areas of collaboration between NDPC and the state in a way that fosters development for the people of the State.

According to him, “our government is passionate about youth development and one of the ways to ensure our youths are gainfully employed is to equip them with the right skills, needed for 21st century workplace. In view of this, we have identified ICT as one key area to upskill our youths…

Read More
Business Economy Technology Technology Trends

8 Reasons MacBooks Are Better Than Other Laptops

post-image

MacBooks have been around for a while now, and in that time, they’ve cemented themselves as some of the most popular laptops available. They’re well-designed, easy to use, and come with some great features. But why are they so popular? And more importantly, why are they better than Windows-based laptops?

Here, we’ll explore several reasons why we think Apple laptops are better than the competition, touching on everything from durability to ease of purchase and more.

8. The Apple Ecosystem

The Apple ecosystem is made up of all the hardware and software that Apple designs and puts out. Almost all Apple devices, apps, and operating systems are a part of the ecosystem: iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Mac, iCloud, Apple Music, and so on.

So, when people talk about the Apple ecosystem, they’re actually referring to how well all these products work together. It’s the ecosystem that makes it possible…

Read More
Announcements Business

Bimbo Abioye, Fintrak Software’s Group Managing Director, Recognized Among “Top 50 Most Valuable Personalities in Nigeria’s Digital Economy”

post-image

 

 

Fintrak Software, Nigeria’s leading indigenous software development firm specializing in financial software, proudly announces the recognition of its Group Managing Director, Bimbo Abioye, at the prestigious “Top 50 Most Valuable Personalities in Nigeria’s Digital Economy” event. The ceremony, held at Providence Hotel in Ikeja GRA, Lagos State, celebrates Abioye’s outstanding contributions to the nation’s digital landscape.

Bimbo Abioye FCA,MBA,ACTI,CISA,CISM,CISSP,FICA,MNCS,AFCPN,SRMA - FinTrak Software Company LLC | LinkedIn
Bimbo Abioye , GMD Fintrak Software

Despite his absence due to commitments in an Eastern African country, Mr. Bimbo Abioye was represented by Ladi Ipaye, who graciously accepted the award on his behalf. The accolade underscores Abioye’s remarkable achievements and relentless dedication to advancing Nigeria’s digital economy.

Reflecting on Abioye’s impact, Ladi Ipaye remarked, “Bimbo Abioye has spearheaded Fintrak’s transformation into a powerhouse within the fintech ecosystem, elevating the firm from a modest consultancy…

Read More