Many top-notch companies face huge financial losses with the increasing rate and frequency of malware attacks. The increasing size of malware attacks is becoming a major concern for millions of organizations throughout the globe. Not just that, many of the developed countries have faced many data breaches in 2022 due to malware attacks. The most common type of malware attack which occurs is ransomware. Cybercriminals mainly use security vulnerabilities to encrypt the organization’s data. Malware attack happens in all sort of organization, whether it’s a government or a healthcare organization. Even small business owners have also complained about the rising concern of malware attacks.
Malware describes any malicious program created to enter into the system and grab all the data. But thankfully, many cybersecurity professionals are trying to reduce the rate of malicious attacks. The change in the number of malware attacks worldwide is increasing day by day. Despite the availability of various anti-malware software, cybercriminals find a way to tackle the security software and enter your system. Especially because they earn their money from malware attacks, so in this article, we will look forward to the statistics of malware attack accord in 2022.
What Exactly is a Malware Attack?
A malware attack can be described as the most common type of cyber-attack, mainly using malicious software or malware injected into the victim’s system. The malware software executes unauthorized steps on other persons’ systems, which is indeed the victim’s system. Malware software can be of different types based on attacks such as spyware, control and command, ransomware, and many more.
Many criminal organizations and businesses have been using malware software. However, many of the cyber-attacks have got huge news coverage. This has created much impact on the reputation of an organization. Hence it becomes really important to save your data. One of the most common examples of malware attacks that happened this year is WannaCry ransomware.
What Are The Different Types of Malware Attacks?
The malware attack happens with the help of a vector, which includes the Trojan horse, worm, and virus. Other than that, various other vectors are used to perform the malware attack. But the most common ones are these:
- Trojan Horse: It is a type of program that appears different. For example, it could be a game or an application. This is how it works as a delivery mechanism of malware. In this, what happens is that the Trojan horse waits until the user downloads it without knowing what it is. The main source of Trojan horse is email and the Internet.
- Virus: It is self-propagating and can infect different files and programs. Sometimes it is also the operating system part. The main difference between a Trojan horse and a virus is that it can propagate, which means it can spread through many files. At the same time, the Trojan horse took over the whole system.
- Worm: It differs from the Trojan horse and virus. Because the Trojan horse and viruses are only localized to one target system. Whereas on the other hand, the worm has different targets.
Statistics of How Malware is Taking Down Many Businesses?
It is quite evident that the malware attack collects all the organization’s data. Below is the statistical data of malware attacks.
- It has been estimated that employees who have infected machines spread the virus more frequently. In 2020, almost 61% of malware activity was experienced by the organization, which mainly spread from the system of one employee to the other. Whereas in the year 2021, it increased to 74%. As of the first quarter of 2022, it has been seen almost 75% of malware attacks have happened this year.
- The main reason for spreading malware attacks is between the system of one employee and another employee. However, phishing attacks are also one of the most common types of cyber-attack frequently occurring. The rate of cyber-attacks increased in the year 2020 because of the pandemic. Most companies started working from home, which resulted in more cyber attacks.
- The main cause of disruption of many organizations and businesses is the ransom attack. In 2020, the email security Mimecast reported that almost 51% of companies had experienced some cyber-attack, mainly ransomware. The ransomware has led to partial disruption in the business of the organization. In the year 2018, it increased to 61%.
- Many organizations in the USA are ready for cyber attacks. According to the worldwide ransomware attacks report, many countries have suffered data breaches. But in the case of the USA, it has been noticed that many businesses have already prepared themselves, with almost 47% of organizations having cyber resilience methods. However, in other countries like the Netherlands, 21% of organizations have created plans to overcome cyber-attacks.
Below is the statistical graph showing the highest number of cyberattacks (malware attacks) in different countries:
Statistics of Computer Viruses
There are various sources through which the malware virus can enter your computer. One such source computer because everyone owns a PC or a laptop.
- Most cases of malware attack through computers: China has the highest number of malware attacks on infected computers. That means every second PC in China has been infected with some malware. It accounts for 47% of malware attacks globally. After China comes Turkey which has around 42% of malware attacks through computers and then comes, Taiwan has 39% of malware attacks.
- Trojan, the most common cause of computer malware: We have seen different malware attacks. The most common source of malware attacks is the Trojan Horse. Mostly it is seen in many of the states of the USA. After that comes the viruses, which are another form of malware attack. It accounts for almost 13% of attacks. In the 3rd position comes the script, which is also the highest rated in 2019. It accounts for 9% of malware infections globally.
- Viruses spread commonly through .exe files: Many programs are used to catch computer viruses. But in, recent studies have shown that the most common cause of computer viruses is the use of .exe files, which account for 53% of the spread of viruses. Most of the infected files are spread through email. It accounts for almost 23% of malware attacks globally.
Statistics of Mobile Malware
Recently it has been reported that almost 28 Million malware attacks occurred through mobile phones. Mobile malware is a severe threat that has been increasing rapidly since 2018. Every day new type of malware threat occurs in the mobile system. And in the year 2022, almost 14 Million malware infections occurred.
- Iran is the only country with a 30.3% mobile malware infection rate. If we look at the global malware attack statistics, the top 3 countries are Iran, Algeria, and Bangladesh as of 2020. However, the rate of infection of malware in Iran is more than in any other country. Although in the year 2019, the company suffered twice the malware attack as in 2020, the rate of malware attacks on mobile phones is higher in the country.
- Adware isa common source of mobile phone malware. The commonly used mobile malware is the malicious app that enables the hacking of devices. And where accounts for approximately 40 percent of malware attacks. Similarly, the risk tool resulted in 20% of all malware attacks. The app works just like a normal can opener; it enters and spreads through your system once you open it.
List of Public and Private Companies Facing Malware Attack
Much large public and private organizations have reported serious malware attacks. Below is the list of the top 3 companies that suffered malware attacks in 2021.
- Accenture: Accenture has reported that it locked ransomware on its organizational system. This happened on July 30th, 2021.However, when this incident took place, it was solved immediately.
- Acer: It is among the top-notch organization in the field of IT. However, it also suffered a ransomware attack on REvil in March 2021. The person behind the threat also demanded $50 Million in ransom.
- ADATA: The company suffered from Ragnar ransomware in October. It causes the organization to take down its infected system to resolve the containment of infection.
These are only a few big organizations that have suffered malware attacks. The rate of malware attacks is constantly increasing per day. In the next week years, the rate of such attacks will be doubled. However, many organizations are using new technologies and software to protect their data from cyber-attack.
Summing Up
We have seen the statistics of malware infection rate worldwide in 2021. In conclusion, the rise of malware infection websites will continue. However, with enhancements in the technology, there will be some good software that can easily resolve malware attacks. Cybercriminals will only target large enterprises more than small businesses to get the details. It doesn’t mean that small businesses are safe. To save the data few precautions have to be taken care. It’s hard to predict what new dangers might appear. Apart from this, how the ransomware will change, nobody knows. Many security firms which are dealing with cyber activities have reported that the rate of activity of cyberattacks increases at the end of the year. This happens because many of the festivities come at the end of the year.
