Kaspersky's detection systems discovered an average of 411 thousand malicious files every day, common increase of almost 3% compared to the previous year. Some specific types of threats also increased, such as attacks involving malicious Microsoft Office documents and other types of documents, which grew by 53%. Attackers leaned towards more dangerous tactics, such as the use of backdoors to infiltrate systems without being detected.
In 2023, Kaspersky systems detected almost 125 million malicious files in total. The Windows operating system continued to be the main target of cyberattacks, representing 88% of all malware detected daily. Malicious families disseminated through various scripts and different document formats ranked among the top three threats, representing 10% of all malicious files detected daily.
Kaspersky's detection systems discovered a very significant daily increase in malicious files in various document formats – for example, Microsoft Office, PDF, etc. – increasing by 53% to around 24 thousand files. The growth may be linked to an increase in attacks using phishing PDF files, designed to steal data from potential victims.
The most widespread type of malware continues to be Trojans. This year, there has been a notable increase in the use of backdoors, recording a growth from 15 files detected per day in 2022 to 40 in 2023. Backdoors stand out as one of the most dangerous types of Trojans, providing attackers with remote control over victims' system to perform tasks such as sending, receiving, executing and deleting files, as well as collecting confidential data and recording computer activity.
"The cyber threat landscape continues to evolve, becoming more dangerous year after year. Criminals continue to develop new malware, techniques and methods to attack organizations and individuals. The number of reported vulnerabilities is also increasing annually and threat actors, including ransomware groups, use them without hesitation”, says Vladimir Kuskov, Head of Anti-Malware Research at Kaspersky.
Furthermore, the same person in charge emphasizes, “The barrier to entry in cybercrime is now being lowered due to the proliferation of AI, which attackers use, for example, to create phishing messages with more convincing text. In these times, it is essential, both for large organizations and for each individual user, to adopt reliable security solutions".
