A recent cybersecurity report from Kaspersky highlighted a 53% increase in daily cyber threats targeting Microsoft Office in 2023.
The report also reveals an average detection of 411,000 malicious files per day this year, indicating an overall increase of almost 3% compared to the previous year.
Kaspersky research signals a shift in cybercriminals’ tactics, emphasizing Microsoft Office and other document formats as preferred targets.
The increase in malicious files in document formats such as Microsoft Office and PDF amounts to approximately 24,000 files. This spike is associated with an increase in phishing attacks using deceptive PDF files designed to extract sensitive data.
Although Trojans remain the most prevalent malware, the report notes a substantial increase in the use of backdoors. Daily backdoor detections increased from 15,000 files in 2022 to 40,000 in 2023, indicating an increased threat of cybercriminals taking remote control of victims’ systems.
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Vladimir Kuskov, head of anti-malware research at Kaspersky, highlighted the evolving cyber threat landscape.
“The cyber threat landscape continues to evolve and becomes more dangerous with each passing year. Adversaries continue to develop new malware, techniques and methods to attack organizations and individuals,” the executive said.
According to Kuskov, the annual increase in reported vulnerabilities is accompanied by constant use of these vulnerabilities by threat actors, including ransomware gangs.
Additionally, decreasing barriers to entry for cybercrime are attributed to the widespread adoption of AI. Attackers leverage AI to create more convincing text in phishing messages, illustrating its role in facilitating cyber threats.
“In these times, it is essential for both large organizations and every regular user to adopt reliable security solutions,” added the security expert.
Faced with these growing threats, Kaspersky also advises users to remain vigilant. Additional Recommendations These include avoiding untrusted app sources, refraining from clicking on questionable links, and creating strong, unique passwords with two-factor authentication (2FA). Regular updates are crucial and messages asking to disable the security system should be ignored.
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