Exploit and botnet activity rose 13 percent and 29 percent respectively in the second quarter of 2020, according to the "Q2 2020 Quarterly Threat Landscape Report" from Nuspire, a Top 200 MSSP.
Other notable results from Nuspire's report included:
- Nearly 1.6 million malware attacks, 1.6 million botnet attacks and 26 million exploit attacks were identified in 2Q20.
- Emotet ranked first among malware variants used during the quarter.
- The ZeroAccess botnet was the most-prevalent botnet discovered during the quarter.
- DoublePulsar was the most commonly used exploit used during the quarter.
- There was a 124 percent increase in ransomware attacks in the first five weeks of the quarter; this may be due to cyberattacks related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Furthermore, Nuspire offered the following recommendations to help organizations protect against cyberattacks and data breaches in 2020 and beyond:
- Educate End-Users About Cyber Threats: Teach end-users how to identify phishing emails and establish procedures to ensure that users can verify the authenticity of email requests.
- Deploy a Layered Approach to Cybersecurity: Create a zero-trust security program that enables an organization to eliminate security gaps and perform regular cybersecurity assessments.
- Leverage Anti-Malware Tools: Use malware detection and protection technology and network security solutions to combat malware attacks.
- Implement a Device Management Strategy: Adopt a device management strategy that ensures users are required to update their device passwords regularly and accounts for current and evolving cyber threats.
- Utilize Software Patches: Deploy patches to address software vulnerabilities.
In addition, proactive threat hunting and response may help organizations keep pace with new cyberattacks, Nuspire CEO Lewie Dunsworth said. Organizations also can leverage threat intelligence to understand the cybersecurity landscape and secure their devices, networks and systems accordingly.
