According to a new global report released on Wednesday, hackers are targeting senior citizens and middle-aged people with ransomware attacks, while young people are falling prey to various scams on popular apps like Instagram and TikTok.
According to a research by Avast, the majority of individuals aged 65 and over, as well as those aged 25 to 35, primarily use their desktop computer or laptop to access the internet, making them vulnerable to ransomware, tech support scams, spyware/Trojans, and Botnets.
People aged 25to 34 and 35 to 44, on the other hand, who use mostly smartphones to go online (87% each) followed by 18 to 24 year olds (85%) making them targets for adware, mobile banking Trojans, downloader and FluBot SMS scams spreading malware, and Instagram and TikTok scams promoting adware apps or Fleeceware.
Younger and older generations are both targets for phishing attacks and romance scams across all devices, according to the report, which is part of a larger global study with YouGov on digital citizenship trends.
Jaya Baloo, Chief Information and Security Officer (CISO) at Avast, said “Cybercriminals often take into account how younger and older generations use different devices to launch targeted attacks, adapting them to current cultural and usage trends to make them more relevant and likely to hit their mark,”
According to Avast Threat Labs, over 1.46 million ransomware attacks on desktops were prevented on average per month in 2021 by the company.
Each month between January and April of this year, 5.9 million tech support scam attacks were attempted around the world.
Adware (59%) was the leading threat on mobile devices in the last quarter (Q3), followed by mobile banking Trojans (9.7%) and downloaders (7.9%), which are malicious apps that employ social engineering to lure victims into installing more malicious or otherwise unwanted apps.
The report noted “FluBot has also been spreading widely on mobile in most countries, including India, where Avast blocked 3,500 attacks monthly in August and September this year, out of 35,000 attacks blocked on average globally per month in Q3,”
Using social media (36%) is the most important internet activity among 35 to 44 year olds.
Banking and finance activities (38%) are the most popular among 55 to 64 year olds, followed by video calling with friends and family (32%).
The report informed “This shows why these generations are targeted on their smartphone with scams on Instagram and TikTok, FluBot SMS and email phishing scams that look like they’ve come from friends or family, and mobile banking Trojans,”
Baloo said “Different generations may see the internet with different eyes and have different online experiences, which is something to keep in mind when having conversations about online safety at home,”