From January to May 2023, Kaspersky systems recorded a total of 764.015 attacks on small and medium-sized businesses. Exploits accounted for 63 percent of these attacks, with the remaining attacks being attributable to spam, phishing and smishing, among other things. A Report from Kaspersky.
Kaspersky recorded a total of 2023 attacks on SMEs in the first five months of 764.015. Exploits accounted for the majority (63 percent or 483.980 attack attempts). These malicious programs exploit software vulnerabilities that cybercriminals can use to inject malware, gain user rights, or disrupt the operation of critical corporate applications. Other significant risks for SMEs are in the area of phishing and scams. Cyber criminals use sophisticated methods to extract confidential information from employees or attempt financial fraud. For example, fake websites from banks, delivery services or credit card companies are used.
SMS phishing: worthwhile attacks on SMEs
Furthermore, the smartphones of SME employees are often attacked via so-called "smishing" (combined word from SMS and phishing). Those affected receive text messages with a link via SMS or via popular platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger or WeChat. If this is clicked, malicious code is uploaded and the device is no longer secure. The Kaspersky experts have also compared the KSN data with the most popular software products from SMEs such as MS Office, MS Teams or Skype. This made it clear how much malware and unwanted software is spread under the guise of these applications.
Global mainstay SMEs
According to UN figures, medium-sized companies make up around 90 percent of all companies worldwide. A recent Kaspersky analysis now suggests that they would have to implement much stricter cyber security measures. For this purpose, Kaspersky experts evaluated anonymized data from the Kaspersky Security Network (KSN) from January to May 2023, which proves that medium-sized companies continue to be the focus of cybercriminals. Compared to the previous year 2022, the number of SME employees who were confronted with malware and other unwanted software has remained roughly constant (2.478 in 2023 compared to 2.572 in 2022). Among other things, cyber criminals exploit vulnerabilities or send phishing emails and fraudulent text messages to gain access to sensitive data.
More at Kaspersky.com
About Kaspersky Kaspersky is an international cybersecurity company founded in 1997. Kaspersky's in-depth threat intelligence and security expertise serve as the basis for innovative security solutions and services to protect companies, critical infrastructures, governments and private users worldwide. The company's comprehensive security portfolio includes leading endpoint protection as well as a range of specialized security solutions and services to defend against complex and evolving cyber threats. Kaspersky technologies protect over 400 million users and 250.000 corporate customers. More information about Kaspersky can be found at www.kaspersky.com/