According to a WatchGuard report, the number of evasive network malware detections has reached an all-time high, with advanced threats increasing by 33%, indicating a higher level of zero-day threats than ever before.
In Q4 2021, researchers discovered malware threats in EMEA at a substantially higher rate than in other parts of the world, with malware detections per Firebox at 49 percent, compared to 23 percent in the Americas and 29 percent in APAC. The upward trend in network intrusion detections continues, with the highest overall detections in any quarter in the last three years and a 39 percent rise quarter over quarter.
This could be attributed to the continuous targeting of old vulnerabilities, as well as the expansion of organisations’ networks, according to researchers. Network security is becoming more complex as new devices come online and old vulnerabilities stay unpatched.
Corey Nachreiner, CSO at WatchGuard, said “The continued shift to a hybrid workforce is making attack surfaces larger and creating more potential security holes for organizations to plug,”
“With the highest level of zero-day threats we’ve ever recorded and an attack surface that extends well beyond the network perimeter to IoT, home networks and mobile devices, companies need to adopt a true unified security approach that can adapt quickly and efficiently to the growing threat landscape. Organizations should make a commitment to implementing simple but critically important measures like updating and patching systems on a regular basis so they’re not enabling hackers.”