2022 BrightCloud® Threat Report shows ransomware remains
largest cyber threat to SMBs as phishing activity spikes
with 770% increase
WATERLOO, ON, March 28,
2022 /PRNewswire/ -- OpenText™ (NASDAQ: OTEX),
(TSX: OTEX) announces the 2022 BrightCloud® Threat Report which
outlines key data points and trends affecting small and large
businesses worldwide, as well as individuals in the new hybrid,
inter-connected world. This year's report provides in-depth
analysis, market insights, trend data, and predictions for what
lies ahead as organizations move toward strengthening their cyber
resiliency posture in the face of ever-increasing cyberattacks and
cyber warfare.
Remote and hybrid work environments, along with rapidly shifting
world affairs, continues to alter how we interact and presents new
security challenges that opens lucrative avenues for bad actors.
Last year, phishing attacks escalated across email, text, and other
communications platforms and new high-risk malicious URLs were
found hiding behind proxy avoidance and anonymizers. Alternatively,
while browser-based cryptojacking may have practically disappeared,
cryptomining malware shifted into mainstream as cybercriminals
continue looking for ways to compromise data and personal
information.
"Businesses' ability to prepare for and recover from threats
will increase as they integrate cyber resilience into their
technologies, processes, and people," said Mark J. Barrenechea, OpenText CEO & CTO.
"With security risks escalating worldwide and a persistent state of
'unprecedented' threats, compromises are inevitable. This year's
findings reiterate the need for organizations to deploy strong
multi-layered security defenses to help them remain at the heart of
cyber resilience and circumvent even the most creative
cybercriminals."
Key Report Highlights:
Phishing & Impersonated Companies:
- 770% overall phishing activity spike during the month of
May 2021
- January – April 2021 saw a mere
9% of phishing activity
- 54% of all detected phishing URLs in 2021 were from
top-targeted brands: Apple, Facebook, YouTube, Microsoft, and
Google
- TO NOTE: eBay fell from being #1 impersonated brand in 2020,
dropping out of the top 10 completely in 2021 as pandemic-related
shortages eased.
Malware:
- 86.3% of malware is unique to a single PC; consistent YOY
- 83% of Windows malware hides in one of four locations, noting
that %appdata% saw a 46% decrease from the prior year, and
%desktop% saw a 40% increase from the prior year
- TO NOTE: The number of malware files reaching Webroot-protected
Windows endpoints dropped 58% between 2020 and 2021.
Infection Rates by Industry:
- Manufacturing registered 54% above average in 2021
- Public Administration saw 41% rise above average in 2021
- Finance and Insurance were 22% below average in 2021
- TO NOTE: Manufacturing was the industry most likely to be
infected in 2021 based on a willingness to pay ransoms to prevent
supply chain disruptions. The 2021 Colonial Pipeline incident was
reminiscent of the damage and chaos from the 2017 NotPetya
ransomware by Russian nation state attackers on the Ukrainian
supply chain. We expect to see more attacks targeting manufacturers
and supply chains in 2022.
Infection Rates by Region:
- Japan, United Kingdom, North America, and Australia saw infection rates drop by 51%
since the year prior
- United States held the largest
number of malicious IP addresses and convictions (24.3%)
- TO NOTE: Netherlands had the
highest number of convictions per bad IP address (average 526),
meaning that each malicious IP address in the Netherlands performed more malicious
activity on average than the average malicious IP address in other
countries.
"Cyber resiliency is a top proactive priority for organizations
worldwide," said Craig Robinson, IDC
Program Director, Security Services. "Better understanding the
known threats will play a key role in building and maintaining a
strong layered security approach."
Download the full 2022 BrightCloud® Threat Report
here.
Methodology:
The threat intelligence, trends and details presented in the
2022 BrightCloud® Threat Report are based on data continuously and
automatically captured by BrightCloud® Platform, which is the
proprietary machine learning-based architecture that powers all
Webroot protection and BrightCloud® services. This data comes from
over 95 million real-world endpoints and sensors, specialized
third-party databases, and intelligence from end users protected by
our leading technology partners like Cisco, Citrix, F5 Networks,
and more. Our threat research team analyzes and interprets the data
using advanced machine learning and artificial intelligence.
About OpenText
OpenText, The Information Company™, enables organizations to
gain insight through market leading information management
solutions, powered by OpenText Cloud Editions. For more information
about OpenText (NASDAQ: OTEX, TSX: OTEX)
visit opentext.com.
Connect with us:
OpenText CEO Mark Barrenechea's
blog
Twitter | LinkedIn
Certain statements in this press release may contain words
considered forward-looking statements or information under
applicable securities laws. These statements are based on
OpenText's current expectations, estimates, forecasts and
projections about the operating environment, economies and markets
in which the company operates. These statements are subject to
important assumptions, risks and uncertainties that are difficult
to predict, and the actual outcome may be materially different.
OpenText's assumptions, although considered reasonable by the
company at the date of this press release, may prove to be
inaccurate and consequently its actual results could differ
materially from the expectations set out herein. For additional
information with respect to risks and other factors which could
occur, see OpenText's Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports
on Form 10-Q and other securities filings with the SEC and other
securities regulators. Unless otherwise required by applicable
securities laws, OpenText disclaims any intention or obligations to
update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Copyright © 2022 OpenText. All Rights Reserved. Trademarks owned
by OpenText. One or more patents may cover this product(s). For
more information, please
visit https://www.opentext.com/patents.
OTEX-G
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SOURCE Open Text Corporation