Cyberattackers Get Aggressive: Over 50% Increase In Unique Malware

Malware developers are rapidly updating and adapting their code to be more resilient, which has resulted in an increase in the number of unique malware used in cyberattacks. According to the latest Global Threat Intelligence Report released by BlackBerry Ltd., the company stopped an average of 11,500 unique malware samples daily, up 53% from the previous reporting period. 

This was one of the highest quarter-over-quarter increases, BlackBerry said. The company stopped 3.7 million cyberattacks (43,500 per day) from April to June 2024, an 18% increase in the total number of attacks from the last reporting period. 

Key takeaways from the report include:

• Geopolitical Tensions Feed Cyberattacks: Cyberwarfare provides fresh fuel to ongoing conflicts between Russia and Ukraine, Israel and Hamas, and tensions in the South China Seas, among several others. In addition, as many countries hold national elections, disinformation and other forms of cyber disruption are on the radar of electoral authorities.

• Critical Infrastructure A Continuous Threat: Critical infrastructure remained a top target this quarter, with over 8,00,000 attacks, 50% of which focused on the financial sector. Attacks targeting this sector increased 25% overall compared to the last reporting period. Threat actors prioritised unique malware in attacks against critical infrastructure due to its higher likelihood of success.

• Rising Commercial Enterprise Attacks: As the number of enterprise devices grow, from point-of-sale terminals to mobile phones, scanners and printers, there are more opportunities for cyber attackers. Attacks on commercial enterprises, including manufacturing, capital goods, commercial and professional services, and retail, increased by 58% this quarter. Capital goods, which provide for manufacturing equipment and office machinery, comprised 66% of all "attacks stopped" in this category.

• Deepfake Technology Improving: Deepfakes—digitally manipulated images, video or audio—are being used to convince recipients that an email, phone call or even a real-time video call is from a person or organisation they know and trust, when it's an attacker pretending to be that person. Deepfakes are becoming increasingly convincing, which is contributing to a rise in attacks that rely on social engineering tactics to succeed.

• Weaponisation Of Chaos: In cybersecurity, any disruption to daily life (such as the CrowdStrike outage) provides fertile ground for malicious actors to exploit confusion and misinformation. Threat actors are always ready to take advantage of chaos using phishing emails, misleading social media posts and malicious software.

• New Cybercriminals Becoming Large-Scale Threats: While legacy groups like LockBit remain a top threat, smaller emerging ransomware groups like BlackSuit and Space Bears are a cause for concern.

BlackBerry researchers predicted that threat actors would continue to take extensive measures to target their victims carefully and with more sophisticated methodology. A rise in new malware and infostealers indicated that private data would continue to be sought after by threat actors, where sectors like healthcare and financial services would be top targets for attack.