Nearly half of global cyber attacks in 2013 originated in the US and Russia, security firm Kaspersky Lab claims.
The firm says 45% of all web attacks it has neutralized in 2013 were launched from the US and Russia, and that 41.6% of its users’ computers have been attacked at least once during the year. The overall global Internet threat level is up 6.9% compared to 2012, with cyber criminals using 60.5% more unique hosts to mount their attacks in 2013.
Attacks targeting mobile devices have become more mature and sophisticated during 2013, with the prime goals stealing money and personal data.
“There is unlikely to be any slow-down in development of malicious apps, especially for Android,” warns Christian Funk, senior virus analyst at Kaspersky Lab. The firm claims 98% of all known malware is targeted at Android devices, and Funk says the popularity of the OS means it is only a matter of time before the “first mass worm” is developed.
Kaspersky Labs also reveals it has detected 315,000 new malicious files each day in 2013, compared to 200,000 a day in 2012, and that the number of browser based attacks has almost doubled to 1.7 billion in the past two years.
Web users in Russia, Austria and Germany are most at risk of attack, with between 40% and 60% of Kaspersky’s customers in those countries reporting attempted attacks in 2013. Several Asia Pacific countries are also cited by the firm, along with a number of former Soviet Republic markets.
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