Internet Security Threat Report’ Released by Symantec

Internet Security Threat Report’


why in news?
 ‘Internet Security Threat Report’ has been released by Symantec. Countries are ranked based on their vulnerability. These rankings are based on eight parameters – malware, spam, phishing, bots, network attacks, web attacks, ransomware and cryptominers.

Indian scenario:
  • India is the third-most vulnerable country in terms of cyber threat risks including malware, spam, ransomware and one of the most recent and difficult-to-detect ones – cryptominers.
  • India continues to be second-most impacted by spam and bots and third-most impacted by network attacks and fourth-most impacted by ransomware.
  • In terms of cryptomining activities, India has ranked second in Asia-Pacific and Japan region (APJ), and ninth globally.

Global scenario:
The US was was most vulnerable to attacks at 26.61% followed by China at 10.95%.

Concerns:
  • With the threat landscape becoming more diverse, attackers are working harder to discover new avenues of attack and cover their tracks.
  • From the sudden spread of WannaCry and Petya/NotPetya, to the swift growth in coinminers, 2017 that digital security threats can come from new and unexpected sources.
  • Cryptojacking has captured the top slot at the attacker toolkit, which signals a massive threat to cyber and personal security. Cryptojacking is defined as the secret use of a computing device to mine cryptocurrency.
  • There is also a 200% increase in attackers injecting malware implants into the software supply chain in 2017. Threats in the mobile space continue to grow year-over-year, including the number of new mobile malware variants rising 54%.

Sources: the hindu.

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