As the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the world, McAfee, saw a 605 percent rise in Q2 2020. In Q3 and Q4, the number of cyberattacks increased by 240 percent and 114 percent, respectively.
Cybercriminals worked feverishly to conduct Covid-19-themed cyberattacks on a workforce dealing with pandemic constraints and the possible vulnerabilities of remote computer and bandwidth security as companies around the world adapted to unprecedented numbers of workers working from home. As the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the world, McAfee saw a 605 percent rise in Q2 2020. In Q3 and Q4, the number of cyberattacks increased by 240 percent and 114 percent, respectively.
McAfee recently released its Threats Report: April 2021, which looks at malware-related cybercrime and the emergence of cyber threats in the third and fourth quarters of 2020. McAfee Labs reported an average of 648 threats per minute in Q4, up 60 threats per minute (or 10%) from Q3. Covid-19-related cyber-attack detections increased by 240 percent in Q3 and 114 percent in Q4, while Powershell threats increased by 208 percent due to increased Donoff malware activity in both quarters.
Commenting on the development, Raj Samani, McAfee Fellow and Chief Scientist, said “The world— and enterprises— adjusted amidst pandemic restrictions and sustained remote work challenges, while security threats continued to evolve in complexity and increase in volume,”
He added “Though a large percentage of employees grew more proficient and productive in working remotely, enterprises endured more opportunistic Covid-19 related campaigns among a new cast of bad-actor schemes. Furthermore, ransomware and malware targeting vulnerabilities in work-related apps and processes were active and remain dangerous threats capable of taking over networks and data, while costing millions in assets and recovery costs.”
During the fourth quarter of 2020, McAfee observed a 100 percent rise in publicly recorded cyber incidents affecting the technology industry. During the same time span, reported incidents in the public sector increased by 93 percent. In the fourth quarter, malware was the commonly recorded causes of security incidents followed by account hijackings, targeted attacks, and vulnerabilities. In Q4, incidents involving new security vulnerabilities increased by 100 percent, malware and targeted attacks each increased by 43 percent, and account hijackings increased by 30 percent.