Quick Heal Technologies Reports Malware, Jailbroken iOS Devices, Upatre and Ransomware Top the List of 2016 IT Security Challenges
Boston, Mass. (PRWEB) January 06, 2016 -- Global IT security solutions provider Quick Heal Technologies today announced its predictions concerning IT security threats and vulnerabilities for 2016. Based on findings from the Quick Heal labs team, the predictions represent a wide array of threats and pose daunting challenges for CSOs, CISOs and IT security executives seeking to detect and block cyber-attacks before they happen.
“We’ll see an escalation of threats and attacks on many fronts in 2016,” said Sanjay Katkar, Founder and CTO of Quick Heal Technologies. “Because cyber criminals are getting increasingly creative about finding back alleys and other methods to get access to both corporate and personal data, staying a step ahead of breaches will always be a challenge. By expecting the unexpected and protecting against the worst breach imaginable, companies will be able to mitigate risk much better than if they stayed in a state of denial. There is no doubt—the risks are real and tangible.”
Quick Heal Research labs predicts the following six major trends and challenges in IT security for 2016:
- New Focus on Jailbroken iOS Devices
2016 will be the year that Android malware authors and hackers turn their focus to iOS. As the number of iPhone owners rises across the world, iOS will become a top target for cyber criminals. The discovery of the “XcodeGhost” malware on the App Store last year was just the beginning. Quick Heal predicts that Android malware will soon be altered to affect iOS users as well, and jailbroken iOS devices will be the first wave of targets for these attacks.
- Adware Menace Continues
Adware and Potentially Unwanted Applications (PUAs) will maintain their positions as major threats in 2016. Adware and PUAs can be used by attackers to silently deliver other malware, remote administration and hacking tools into a user’s system without their knowledge. Websites using WordPress remain an ongoing target for Malvertising campaigns. And, high profile attacks, such as on the popular video sharing site DailyMotion, demonstrate the effectiveness of Malvertising campaigns and one major reason they remain popular delivery vehicles for malware.
- IoT Is a New Cyber Attack Breeding Ground
With connected smart watches and fitness wristbands constantly gathering user data, cyber criminals are gearing up for this new theft opportunity. Quick Heal predicts that 2016 will be the year when the data collected by these devices will be used maliciously against users in several creative ways, and moreover, hackers will create a greater sense of panic by appearing in channels where unsuspecting users are not expecting them. This shock value will lead to instant payback for the attackers who have been working on their strategies for infiltrating these devices.
- Ransomware Spreads and Mobile Devices Become Targets
Going into 2016, ransomware malware will remain a key challenge for the IT security world. These attacks, which make an infected system unusable by locking the screen or system, encrypting the data on the system and then demanding a ransom to unlock and decrypt this data, are capable of causing significant system downtime, loss of critical data, Intellectual Property (IP) theft, and more. In several industries, a ransomware attack is now considered on par with a significant data breach. One of the most consistently seen ransomware samples has been Cryptowall 3.0. Quick Heal also foresees the growing threat of ransomware attacks on mobile devices in 2016 and beyond.
- Banking and the Insider Threat
Breaches coming from the inside of financial organizations in 2016 will continue to grow as banking malware authors turn their attention towards banking personnel. As banks start to build up their security protections, hackers will turn to “soft targets” – banking employees. They’ll gather information about different employees, focusing on those who are vulnerable to hacks and attacks, and those with greater access to sensitive data infrastructure. Attackers are also actively devising ways to pinpoint machines that access such data on an everyday basis. With time-tested methods of spear phishing emails at their disposal, hackers are tricking employees into providing them access into these systems.
- Upatre Will Continue to Infiltrate Routers
The Quick Heal Research labs team has been tracking Upatre since 2013, with upwards of 50,000 infections occurring every month across the global Quick Heal customer base. Quick Heal’s security experts have recently identified a sharp increase in the number of infiltrated routers, the highest concentration of which is located in the U.S. This uptick is one reason Upatre made Quick Heal’s list of biggest threats to IT security in 2016. Because of the malicious way Upatre takes control of personal and company routers to gain access to users’ personal banking information and other critical data, it is predicted that it will spread quickly, hacking wireless routers to deliver the payload, mainly through banking Trojans known as Dyre or Dyzap.
Resellers interested in becoming a Quick Heal/Seqrite partner, please contact 855-978-6117 or email us.sales(at)seqrite(dot)com or visit the Quick Heal partner page. For more information on Quick Heal, visit http://www.quickheal.com.
About Seqrite
Seqrite is the enterprise security brand of Quick Heal Technologies Ltd. The comprehensive
Seqrite data security product line targets small to midsize enterprises and is designed to
simplify security management across endpoints, mobile devices and networks. For more information on the Quick Heal Seqrite Partner Program, please contact 855-978-6117, email us.sales(at)Seqrite(dot)com or visit the Quick Heal partner page. For more information on Quick Heal, visit http://www.quickheal.com.
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Paula Johns, Paula Johns Communications, +1 (760) 522-0941, [email protected]
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