>
2023 could be the biggest year ever for cybercriminals, according to new figures.
Cybercrime is on the rise across the board, according to the latest figures from SonicWall, but trends are slowly shifting, something IT security teams should be aware of. To be more precise, hackers take a “slow and low” approach, keeping a low profile while trying to achieve financially motivated goals.
That said, the company found that the total malware (opens in new tab) volume increased by 2% in 2022, after three consecutive years of decline.
Ransomware is increasing in volume
Overall, the entire European continent saw more malware (10%+), with a record 25.6 million attempts in Ukraine. Certain countries, such as the UK (-13%) and Germany (-28%), performed quite well last year. On the other hand, the US experienced a 9% lower malware volume compared to 2021.
Ransomware, arguably one of the most popular attack vectors out there, saw a global drop of 21%, but the total volume surpassed that of 2017, 2018, 2019 and 202. Notably, the total amount of ransomware in the fourth quarter (154, 9 million) was the highest since Q3 2021.
But trends seem to be shifting towards IoT malware, whose global volume is up 87% by 2022, totaling 112 million hits last year. Cryptojacking – hijacking an endpoint to mine cryptocurrency – has also yet to show signs of abating. It rose 43% globally last year, making it the most SonicWall threat researchers have recorded in a single year. The retail and financial sectors were hardest hit, with 2810% and 352% increases respectively.
“The past year has amplified the need for cybersecurity in every industry and every facet of business as threat actors target everything from education to retail to finance,” said SonicWall President and CEO Bob VanKirk. “As organizations face an increasing number of real obstacles with macroeconomic pressures and ongoing geopolitical strife, threat actors are changing attack strategies at an alarming rate.”