Tag Archive for: increased

This New Malware Has Increased by 239% Since 2020 / Digital Information World

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There are all sorts of malware that can impact your daily life, but stalkerware is one of the most dangerous out there with all things having been considered and taken into account. A study conducted by Avast revealed that stalkerware has seen a massive 239% increase since 2020, which makes it even more of a threat than might have been the case otherwise. Let’s take a look at what stalkerware actually is and how it can affect users of the internet.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that stalkwerware uses location tracking and activity monitoring on smartphones to develop a profile of the victim. Malicious actors can keep track of text messages that the user exchanges, calls that the user makes and much more.

According to a threat analyst working at Avast, this level of growth in stalkerware is concerning to say the least. The main issue here is that apps that contain stalkerware actually seem rather innocuous to the untrained eye. They can be anything from a simple calculator all the way to a child monitoring app, and they are facilitating a wide array of dangerous behaviors.

Users might find themselves getting stalked and harassed due to these apps, but in spite of the fact that this is the case not all that much work has been done to stem their seemingly out of control growth rate. Tracking apps should always be downloaded with caution because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up containing stalkwerware without your knowledge.

The only real way to protect yourself from stalkwerware is to go through the permissions that have been granted to each app. Unless you are absolutely certain that a given app is trustworthy, it is essential that you do what you can to delete it or at the very least rescind its permissions. The pandemic did a lot to give these apps a boost, and it might take a while before their growth rate starts to wind down and become more manageable.

Image: Freepik/rawpixel

Read next: New Report Exposes Alarming Security Risks in Popular Mobile Applications

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Ransomware Attacks Increased by More Than 51% in February

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Posted By HIPAA Journal on Mar 24, 2023

Ransomware activity increased in February according to the latest GRIT Ransomware Report from GuidePoint Security. The report is based on data collected by the GuidePoint Research and Intelligence Team, which reports a 51.5% increase in attacks compared to January and a 15.8% increase in attacks compared to February 2022.

The LockBit 3.0 ransomware group was particularly active in February, posting more than twice the number of victims (129) on its leak site as January (50), accounting for virtually all of the monthly increase in attacks. ALPHV/BlackCat also listed more victims (30) on its data leak site than January (21), with Royal and BinLian in the third and fourth spots. Medusa completed the top 5. There was a 21% decrease in Royal ransomware victims compared to January, but a massive 400% increase in BianLian victims. According to the cybersecurity firm Redacted, the BianLian group appears to have changed tactics and is now increasingly monetizing its breaches without using file encryption and is concentrating on extortion after stealing data.

While the healthcare industry is often targeted by ransomware gangs, there was a shift in the industries targeted by ransomware groups in February, with a marked increase in attacks on the food and beverage, banking/financial services, and engineering industries. The GRIT team reports that healthcare was the 7th most targeted sector out of 10 sectors tracked. While the most active ransomware groups do not appear to be primarily targeting the healthcare industry, there are many smaller ransomware groups that are steadily conducting attacks and GuidePoint Security has warned that these smaller groups, which often break away from larger ransomware groups, are more likely than the larger groups to actively target the healthcare sector.

The researchers also drew attention to the Royal ransomware group, which is a relatively new addition to the threat landscape having only been in operation since September 2022. The group has conducted at least 97 attacks since then but there is concern that activity will increase. Royal is believed to include members from other ransomware operations such…

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India: Increased security measures and internet suspension reported in Punjab State as of March 19

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Ransomware Attacks on Industrial Firms Increased by 87% in 2022

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Ransomware attacks against industrial organizations increased by 87% in 2022 from the year before, with most malicious software targeting the manufacturing sector, according to findings published Tuesday.

Hackers last year targeted mining industries in Australia and New Zealand, and continued their focus on renewable energy companies in the US and the European Union, the cybersecurity firm Dragos Inc. said in a report. Attackers also increased or accelerated their attacks on energy, food, water, electrical and natural gas sectors, the company determined.

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