Quick Heal Detects Over 180 Million Windows Threats In Q2FY18

A recent report by Quick Heal, a Pune-based IT security solutions provider, says that they detected more than 180 million threats on Windows devices of individual and enterprise users between April and June 2018. According to the report, the highest number of threats was detected in May, which stood at 74 million, followed by 55 million in April and 51 million in June.

The report also reveals that on a daily basis the company detected more than 2 million malware, 16,000 ransomware, 13,000 crypto-mining malware, 141,000 exploits, and 40,488 potentially unwanted applications (PUAs) and adware.

“Cybercriminals are at a completely different level today than they were a few years ago. They are using novel technologies to drive increasingly-complex attacks and are targeting larger user bases,” Sanjay Katkar, Joint Managing Director and Chief Technology Officer, Quick Heal Technologies said.

“Individual users and businesses across India need to understand the massive risk that they are exposed to at present. Ignorance is not a viable cyber security strategy. The need of the hour is to drive large-scale adoption of cutting-edge security solutions.”

Security experts also identified a spike in the EternalBlue exploit, which was used for the WannaCry ransomware attack, one of the biggest global cyber security incidents ever seen, the report said. Other key trends identified in the report include a significant increase in the number of ransomware attacks targeting the Master Boot Record (MBR) of infected devices and crypto-mining.

According to a recent Quick Heal report, over 3 million cryptojacking hits were detected till May 2018, with the number of active mobile cryptojacking variants increasing to 25. The report highlighted the rise of cryptojacking as one of the most worrying security trends and warned about it becoming an ‘advanced threat’ as it is the new source of getting direct monetary benefits to cyber criminals.

Cryptojacking attacks remain undetected for a long time and can often be used as a platform to launch other complex attacks. – Business Today