Ransomware up and Phishing down in the first half
We can say that two of the most important problems today are ransomware and Phishing. The first consists basically of encrypt files or systems and prevent the victim from opening them. They can also steal and extort money from them. In order to solve the problem, the cybercriminal will ask for a ransom in return.
Phishing instead aims steal passwords. It usually comes through an e-mail, SMS or even through social networks. It consists of a link that takes us to a web page that has been created maliciously. It pretends to be, for example, the Facebook page, Netflix or any service, but in reality it is false.
These two attacks have been among the most important during the first six months of the year, but they have not acted in the same way. In the case of ransomware, it has increased from a share of 11% to 22%, while Phishing attacks have dropped from 44% to 40%. However, both remain two very present dangers.
Education and retail, hard hit
If we focus on which sectors have been the most affected, it should be noted that the education it has been the most affected sector. Specifically, ransomware has accounted for 32% of attacks, compared to 11% the previous year.
Part of the problem has been the Covid-19 pandemic. Many schools have had to adapt to remote learning and have changed certain habits. This has opened a door for cybercriminals to try to steal jobs, encrypt files vital to running a school, etc.
But another very affected sector has been the retail commerce. Specifically, it has represented 20% of all attacks during these first months of 2021. They have more and more personal data of customers and manage more information and that adds value to hackers who seek to launch a ransomware or Phishing attack to steal passwords.
Computer security experts warn that it is essential that there be greater learning in relation especially to everything remote. This can help avoid problems as we have seen in the case of schools or remote workers performing their functions from home.
Maintaining the security of the computers with a good antivirus such as Windows Defender, Avast or Bitdefender, in addition to having the systems correctly updated and thus solving problems, are two very important points. But perhaps the most essential is common sense. Avoiding making mistakes can free us from the entry of malware of all kinds. It is important, for example, to detect keyloggers in Windows.
