{"id":38952,"date":"2020-06-04T13:25:20","date_gmt":"2020-06-04T05:25:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/?p=38952"},"modified":"2020-06-04T13:25:23","modified_gmt":"2020-06-04T05:25:23","slug":"kaspersky-puts-spotlight-on-cyberthreat-that-is-often-overlooked","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/2020\/06\/04\/kaspersky-puts-spotlight-on-cyberthreat-that-is-often-overlooked\/","title":{"rendered":"Kaspersky puts spotlight on cyberthreat that is often overlooked"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Several studies from Kaspersky have since revealed that companies are concerned about data breaches and ransomware. However, fresh statistics from the global cybersecurity company unmasks that the biggest threat in Southeast Asian small and medium businesses (SMBs) are not those two, but miners.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just in the first three months of 2020, Kaspersky solutions have foiled over 1 million mining attempts against devices of businesses in Southeast Asia (SEA) with 20-250 employees. This is 12% more compared with 949,592 mining incidents blocked in the same period last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The total number of miners detected in Q1 is also significantly more than the 834,993 phishing attempts and 269,204 ransomware detections against SMBs in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe cannot refute the fact that malicious mining is far less destructive compared with ransomware, data breaches, and the like but it remains a risk that SMBs should consider seriously. Cybercriminals behind these attacks are using your own resources, from your electricity, your data bandwidth, to your devices\u2019 hardware which are not cheap at all,\u201d comments Yeo Siang Tiong, general manager for Southeast Asia at Kaspersky. \u201cOur previous study even found out that two days\u2019 straight of mining cryptocurrency using mobile mining malware can leave an infected device\u2019s battery bloated to the point of physically deforming the phone. Think footing the bill without eating the meal, that\u2019s how illegal miners work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Malicious mining, also known as cryptojacking, are attacks that can inflict both direct and indirect losses for a business. Cryptocurrency miners that infect the computers of unsuspecting users essentially operate according to the same business model as ransomware programs: the victim\u2019s computing power is harnessed to enrich the cybercriminals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aside from a substantial increase in electrical consumption and usage of CPU, mining increases the wear and tear on hardware by having processing cores, including those belonging to discrete graphics cards, working overtime to mine ill-gotten cryptocurrency. The wasted bandwidth also decreases the speed and efficiency of legitimate computing workloads. Moreover, a cryptojacking malware can overwhelm a system, causing severe performance problems, which will have an immediate effect on businesses’ networks and ultimately, their customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kaspersky\u2019s data further reveals that Indonesia and Vietnam were among the countries in SEA and globally with the highest number of mining attempts against SMBs. Most of the six countries in the region, except the Philippines and Thailand, have also recorded an increase in terms of this malware\u2019s detection in the first quarter of 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Completing the five countries with most number of cryptojacking attempts are the Russian Federation, Brazil, and the Islamic Republic of Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are obvious signs when your file is being held by ransomware, but malicious miners take a long while to notice, compounding the true cost of this malware. Cryptocurrency is here to stay which also means cybercriminals will continue to look for devices they can use illegally for mining. One important point SMBs should consider is that there is a direct correlation between successful cryptojacking and the use of pirated software. The more freely unlicensed software is distributed, the more miners there are, so I urge companies to use legitimate software at all times,\u201d adds Yeo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aside from unlicensed software, miners can also get into computers via adware installers and infected content distributed using social engineering as well as infected USBs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To block malicious software from adware and infected content being spread through email, SMBs can use Kaspersky Security for Microsoft Office 365. This tool is an advanced, all-in-one threat protection for Microsoft Office 365\u2019s communication and collaboration services. It curbs the spread of malicious threats including ransomware, viruses, Trojans, phishing, among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is currently being given free for six months to SMBs in SEA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the human-factor plays a huge role in this type of threat, businesses can also utilize the 20-30 minutes free online course<\/a> from Kaspersky. This free training tackles how companies can secure their current remote working environment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kaspersky also shares the following tips to keep SMBs\u2019 devices safe from malicious miners:<\/p>\n\n\n\n