Cybercriminals continue to produce innovative ways to harvest money, tricking and cracking into computers across the globe. Here are trends to watch.
Top Cyber Threats in 2019
Wipers
Wiper malware wipes drives clean, destroying everything on them. Motives of those who spread them include covering up tracks after stealing sensitive files and records.
Fileless Malware
Fileless Malware evades traditional signature-based antivirus software by writing nothing to the drives of attacked computers. The malware exploits vulnerabilities in web browser and PDF software or launches from phishing emails. Fileless malware attackes doubled in the first half of 2018 according to SentinelOne and are sure to continue on an upward path.
Emotet
This banking trojan, a program that masquerades as an innocent application, has evolved. It now offers cybercriminals a range of options for delivering a variety of threats. Watch for new capabilities to continue as Emotet grows in 2019.
Botnets
Has one of your computers been "owned"? Bot-herders infect hundreds of thousands of computers and use them to spread other malware or launch denial of service attacks against blackmailed companies that refuse to pay protection money.
Ransomware
Even though we all know about this threat it is still extremely dangerous and prevalent. Criminal behind ransomware demands are picking their targets, hitting a vulnerable times. Attacks on small businesses are growing even though they don't grab the headlines.
Cryptominers
An increase of 83 percent in cryptomining activity was measured in 2018 by Kaspersky researchers. Cryptominers insinuate themselves into computers, running constantly to profitably mine Bitcoins. The miners slow down your computers and run up your electric bills.
Malvertising
Internet ads are not always what they seem. Cybercriminal post infected ads that size up your computer and location, then deliver malware that can blackmail you, steal your banking login and password or perform other nefarious exploits.
All of these threats can be expected to flourish and metastasize in 2019. A tip of the hat to ThreatPost for collecting these top threats.
Your best protections are a start-of-the-art antivirus service and multiple backup systems.