While ransomware attacks declined in 2018, cryptominers dominated the malware landscape and impacted 37 per cent organisations worldwide, Israel-based cybersecurity solutions provider Check Point Software Technologies said in a report here on Tuesday.
According to “Check Point’s 2019 Security Report”, despite a fall in the value of all cryptocurrencies, 20 per cent of the companies continued to be hit by cryptomining attacks every week.
In 2018, cryptominers occupied the types of top four most prevalent malware.
On the other hand, ransomware usage fell sharply in 2018, impacting just 4 per cent of organisations globally.
“From the meteoric rise in cryptomining to massive data breaches and DDoS attacks, there was no shortage of cyber-disruption caused to global organisations over the past year,” Peter Alexander, Chief Marketing Officer of Check Point Software Technologies, said in a statement.
Mobiles were found as a moving target. Over 30 per cent of organisations worldwide were hit by mobile malware, with the leading three malware types targeting the Android OS.
Bots were the third most common malware type, with 18 per cent of organisations hit by bots which are used to launch DDoS attacks and spread other malware. Bot infections were instrumental in nearly half (49 per cent) of organisations experiencing a DDoS attack in 2018.
The report is based on data from Check Point’s ThreatCloud intelligence — a collaborative network for fighting cybercrime which delivers threat data and attack trends from a global network of threat sensors — over the last 12 months.
It is also based on a new survey of IT professionals and C-level executives that assesses their preparedness for today’s threats.
