Cybercriminals Mainly Focused On Targeted Attacks In Q3 Of 2019 - Report

Cybercriminals Mainly Focused on Targeted Attacks in Q3 of 2019 - Report

Cybercriminals have increased the frequency of targeted cyberattacks in the third quarter of 2019, with their number growing by 6 percentage points from the previous quarter, the Russian Positive Technologies company said on Friday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd November, 2019) Cybercriminals have increased the frequency of targeted cyberattacks in the third quarter of 2019, with their number growing by 6 percentage points from the previous quarter, the Russian Positive Technologies company said on Friday.

"The main trend is the prevalence of targeted attacks over mass ones. Their share is now 65 percent against 59 percent in the second quarter. Attackers are most interested in [targeting] governments and industrial companies, as well as financial, scientific and educational institutions," the company said in a new report.

The document specified that every fifth attack targeted private individuals and aimed at stealing their passwords and log-in information. Users' personal data are also the main target of attacks on legal entities.

The company's experts also revealed that about three-quarters of the attacks on legal entities and 62 percent of the attacks on private citizens were performed with the help of malware, mainly phishing emails and compromised websites.