IOT ATTACKS INCREASE BY 600% IN ONE YEAR

Cryptocurrency mining, ransomware, and the Internet of Things (IoT) attacks dominated the security landscape during the end of 2017. The IoT attacks increased by as much as 600 percent during the period of 2016 and 2017 as recently reported. Similarly, the detection of cryptocurrency miners also increased by a whopping 8500 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Due to its vast scope, the Internet of Things (IoT) continues to grow as a primary target for exploitation by global cyber criminals. Leading security firm, Symantec, recently made this claim.?The overall number of Internet of Things (IoT) attacks has increased from 6000 in 2016 to approximately 50,000 in the 2017. This turns out to be an increase of 600 percent in just one year.

The majority of the cyber attacks on IoT devices and applications in 2017 was 21 percent and occurred in China.??This number was followed by the United States of America, 11%, Brazil, 7%, and Russia with 6% of the IoT attacks. Over half of the attacks that were attempted against the IoT application and devices were aimed at targeting Telnet services.

Reports also indicate that in addition to IoT, cybercriminals are interested in cryptocurrency mining. The detection of cryptocurrency miners has increased to 8500 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017.?Most frequently, the cyber attackers install cryptocurrency miners on IoT devices or computer systems of victims without their knowledge.

Moreover, during 2017, ransomware has been another major security threat across the globe.?Ransomware attacks are on the rise with significant cyber attacks including Petya/Not Petya and WannaCry which caused global damage.?As reports indicate, the number of ransomware attacks increased by 46 percent last year.

Mobile attacks through malware are also on the rise with the number of new attacks increasing by around 54 percent during 2017.

As the cyber threats and attacks continue surging, the problem may get worse by the increased number of consumers making use of such advanced technologies and applications.