{"id":23863,"date":"2024-02-06T07:11:12","date_gmt":"2024-02-06T15:11:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/2024\/02\/06\/news-17593\/"},"modified":"2024-02-06T07:11:12","modified_gmt":"2024-02-06T15:11:12","slug":"news-17593","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/2024\/02\/06\/news-17593\/","title":{"rendered":"State of Malware 2024: What consumers need to know"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Released today, the Malwarebytes State of Malware 2024 report<\/a> takes a deep dive into the latest developments in the world of cybercrime. <\/p>\n

As home users, many of the threats we cover will only affect you second hand, such as disruptions after a company suffers a ransomware attack, or when your private information is sold online after a data breach. Sadly, there’s not a lot you can do to prevent incidents like these yourself, other than stay on top of the news<\/a> and protect yourself against identity theft<\/a>. <\/p>\n

But other threats you can do something about. So in this article we’ll focus on what threats affect you directly and how you can protect yourself. <\/p>\n

Privacy <\/h2>\n

In the last year, the UK\u2019s Online Safety Act<\/a> attempted to challenge the status quo for social media and messaging companies. The act was widely interpreted as a demand that companies scan users\u2019 messages for illegal material, and is a first warning about the directions in which privacy<\/a> may continue to be threatened in the name of greater good.  <\/p>\n

It also acts as a reminder to be careful about what you share, even if you are under the impression that you are using the internet securely. We have seen news of ChatGPT leaking user\u2019s information<\/a> and law enforcement asking for backdoors in encryption<\/a> routines. <\/p>\n

Passwords <\/h2>\n

Google and Microsoft made good on their promise to back passkeys<\/a>, an encryption-based alternative to passwords that can\u2019t be stolen, guessed, cracked, or phished.<\/p>\n

We’d like to see more companies embrace new methods of authentication and wave passwords goodbye: Too many breaches have shown us that user education only works for those that were already doing the right things. Keeping track of the hundreds of passwords an average user has, along with the relative complexity of using a password manager have convinced us it\u2019s time for a better alternative. <\/p>\n

Malvertising <\/h3>\n

If the last year has taught us something, it\u2019s that scammers and malware peddlers can afford to buy sponsored search results and outbid the brand owner so that their links come out on top. Cybercriminals create Google Search ads mimicking popular brands, which lead to highly realistic, replica web pages where users are scammed or tricked into downloading malware. <\/p>\n

Despite efforts on the side of search providers like Google, the cybercriminals remained one step ahead, able to consistently bypass ad verification checks all year. The type of malware that’s used varies with each campaign but infostealers (which gather information from your computer, such as usernames and passwords) were the most common type. <\/p>\n

Banking Trojans <\/h3>\n

Banking trojans are one of the most serious threats facing Android devices<\/a>. Banking trojans come disguised as regular apps like QR code scanners, fitness trackers, or even copies of popular apps like Instagram. <\/p>\n

The malicious app asks the user for permissions that allow it to monitor what happens in other apps and will then create overlay screens for legitimate apps. This allows them to capture login credentials and even multi-factor authentication (MFA)<\/a> tokens.<\/p>\n

Mac malware <\/h3>\n

The days of \u201cmy Mac is safe\u201d and \u201cMacs don’t get malware\u201d are definitely over. There are many signs that criminals are taking note of the platform\u2019s increasing popularity by enabling attacks to target both Windows and Mac users at the same time. <\/p>\n

Contrary to outdated beliefs, malware for Macs<\/a> has always existed, it was just considered less serious since most Mac malware was adware<\/a> or potentially unwanted programs (PUPs)<\/a>. This is changing. For example, in September, 2023, Malwarebytes discovered a cybercriminal campaign spreading Atomic Stealer (AMOS)<\/a> malware to Mac users through malicious ads. AMOS malware can steal passwords from browsers and Apple\u2019s Keychain, as well as grab files.<\/p>\n

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READ THE REPORT<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Malwarebytes  <\/h3>\n

Malwarebytes has solutions to safeguard individuals\u2019 data and identities. We can protect your Android<\/a> and iOS<\/a> devices, Macs<\/a>, Chromebooks<\/a>, and Windows<\/a> systems. We also have software to protect your identity<\/a>, safeguard your online privacy<\/a>, and block unwanted ads and trackers<\/a>.  <\/p>\n

https:\/\/blog.malwarebytes.com\/feed\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The State of Malware 2024 report covers some topics that are of special interest to home users: privacy, passwords, malvertising, banking Trojans, and Mac malware. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[10488,10378],"tags":[32,26699,11196,17276],"class_list":["post-23863","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-malwarebytes","category-security","tag-news","tag-personal","tag-state-of-malware","tag-state-of-malware-report"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23863","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23863"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23863\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23863"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23863"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23863"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}