Cyberattackers are using more new malware, attacking critical infrastructure

Commercial enterprises aren’t being spared; just over one-third (36%) of attacks targeted them, often using social engineering to gather account credentials and plant malware. Although the number of threats directed at these enterprises only rose by three percent, the sector saw a 10% jump in new malware over the previous reporting period. And deepfakes, the report said, are increasingly being used in targeted attacks such as those where a deepfake recording of a CEO’s voice instructs a finance manager to transfer funds to a bad actor.

Unsurprisingly, BlackBerry customers in the US accounted for the most attempted attacks, with 82% of prevented cyberattacks, 54% of which were new malware. Rounding out the top five targets were Japan, South Korea, Australia, and Honduras. BlackBerry saw the greatest amount of new malware in the US, followed by South Korea, Japan, Australia, and Brazil.

The report also found that 56% of the reported vulnerabilities enumerated by CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) that were being leveraged had a severity score of 7.0 or higher out of 10, a three percent increase over the previous reporting period.