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PandaLabs Cybersecurity Predictions 2017

Panda Security s anti-malware laboratory takes a look back to 2016, and looks
ahead to the new year

Luis Corrons, PandaLabs Technical Director

Analysis:

The technological revolution is by now an undisputed reality. It is clearer than ever, now in the
last trimester of the year, that digital technologies are transforming the world of business, work,
and public administration. It is vital that we promote a climate of digital trust that bolsters user
protection. For this reason, cybersecurity has become a crucial element.

The year kicked off with more than 20 million new samples of malware detected and neutralized
by PandaLabs, with an average of 227,000 per day. This figure is slightly higher than the one
found last year in the same quarter, in which the average of new samples rounded off at
225,000 per day.

Throughout 2016, we’ve seen how the quantity of new malware has been slightly lower
than last year’s — about 200,000 new samples of malware per day on average —
although attacks have become more effective.

Cybercriminals are becoming more and more confident of their abilities, and, even though we’re
closing the year with more optimistic figures than when we began it, we can’t let our guard
down.

Black Hats are concentrating their efforts into the most profitable attacks, utilizing tactics and
professionalizing the sorts of attacks that allow them to make quick and easy money in an
efficient manner.

Ranking the top attacks of 2016

Ransomware

We know that ransomware is a substantial business for cybercriminals, but it is incredibly tricky
to measure it reliably. We have witnessed the evolution of these attacks, with such advances as
the increased implementation of a chat function as a direct line of communication with thieves
used to “formalize” payments.

Techniques have also evolved, and in some cases have become particularly aggressive, as is
the case of Petya, which instead of encrypting documents goes straight for the computer’s
Master Boot Record (MBR) and makes it unserviceable until a ransom is paid.

48 Cyber Warnings E-Magazine December 2016 Edition
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