According to the latest ESET Threat Report, cyberthreats continue to evolve and pose significant risks to businesses and individuals alike. The report covers the period from September to December 2022, and it highlights several trends that defined the cyberthreat landscape during this phase of the year.
Interestingly, the report reveals a decline in all but one of the monitored malware categories in T2 and T3 of 2022. However, despite the drop in numbers, the year-over-year figures showed a growth in several areas, including downloaders and email threats. Android threats were the only malware category that saw a continuous increase throughout the year, with activity increasing by 57% in T3 2022.
The report also identified several strains of Android spyware variants wielded by criminals and Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) alike. This development underscores the significance of mobile security as an area of concern, especially since more people are now working remotely and rely heavily on mobile devices.
On the other hand, the report noted that ransomware detections in ESET telemetry recorded steady figures in the last quarter of the year. However, it was worrying that Russia-aligned APT groups unleashed data-destroying ransomware variants on Ukraine and its allies. There was also a case where Russian organizations and their data were affected by the ransomware variants, highlighting the borderless nature of cyberthreats and the interconnectedness of businesses and nations across the world.
The ESET Threat Report T3 2022 provides valuable insights into the evolving cyberthreat landscape, and its findings draw attention to growing security threats that demand greater awareness and proactive measures. While businesses and individuals can adopt different security measures to mitigate these risks, experts recommend adopting a multi-layered approach to cyberdefense to counter these evolving threats effectively.
The multi-layered approach combines security technology, employee education and awareness, backup and recovery, and system monitoring. Employee education and awareness are particularly important as human error remains one of the significant causes of data breaches and other security incidents.
To conclude, as cybercriminals continue to innovate and find new ways to exploit security vulnerabilities, businesses and individuals must remain vigilant and take proactive measures to stay ahead of these threats. Cybersecurity is not a one-time event but a continuous process that requires ongoing attention and investment, and the ESET Threat Report T3 2022 serves as a valuable resource that underscores the importance of vigilance, education and awareness, and proactive measures in strengthening security defenses.