According to the ESET Threat Report for the third quarter of 2020, there are around 7,1 million attacks on employees in the home office every day.
Cyber criminals specialize in their attacks on the home office. The remote desktop protocol (RDP) remains the main target in the third quarter. Around 7,1 million attacks take place on home workers in the DACH region every day. That's an increase of around 390 percent since March. Attacks with Android banking malware also increased rapidly in the third quarter. Criminals are also increasingly relying on crypto miners again. These are the results of the ESET Threat Report for the third quarter of 2020, which the European IT security manufacturer has now published.
Partly with private hardware in the company network
“Our own surveys about the changes in the world of work caused by the corona pandemic show that around a quarter of all companies in Germany let their employees at least partially with private hardware into the company network. That is fatal, because this shadow IT makes the infrastructure open like a barn door to cyber criminals, ”explains Michael Schröder, Security Business Strategy Manager DACH at ESET. “An increase of 390 percent since March clearly shows that criminals have recognized this weakness in many companies and are massively exploiting it. IT managers must act immediately here. "
Over 7,1 million attacks on the RDP protocol every day
According to the results of a recent ESET survey, 26 percent of their employees in their home office use all or some of their private hardware. The use of unknown devices in a company network represents an enormous security risk. Cyber criminals have been very active since March to gain access to sensitive data and to make financial profit from it. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland alone, there were an average of around 7,1 million attacks on the remote desktop protocol (RDP) in September. Since March, these attacks have increased by around 390 percent.
Android banking malware is growing at a worrying rate
The malware Cerberus has been known since June 2019 and is banking malware for the Android operating system. The malware aims to steal banking data. When the hacker group behind the malware split up, the source code was published free of charge on the Internet in August of this year. Since then, anyone has been able to use the malware for their own purposes. Attack attempts increased rapidly from this point on.
Back in trend: crypto miners
After the exchange rate for the crypto currency Bitcoin climbed, attackers are increasingly relying on crypto miners again. These malicious programs secretly mine cryptocurrencies in the background. With the corona pandemic, the activity of this malware decreased and has been picking up speed again since August.
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