The rise in cybercrime is not a fantasy: malware hacks have increased sevenfold since 2020

The cybercriminal threat has increased significantly since 2020, as have data-stealing malware hacks, which have increased sevenfold. These are reaching alarming levels.

Hacks using malware are increasing dramatically. According to data communicated this Tuesday, April 2, 2024 by Kaspersky, nearly 10 million devices have been targeted by data theft software, known as “ infostealers ”, last year alone, an increase of 643% over three years. According to the cybersecurity company, the scale of the threat requires a response that is both urgent and proactive. Because the signals are alarming.

Actual number of hacks may be higher than reported due to undisclosed leaks

Malware attacks have increased sevenfold since 2020. The increase, which finds its source in the logs of information thieves exchanged on the dark web, is nothing short of spectacular. This escalation worries and exposes the vulnerability of users and businesses to cyber threats.

Given that some of the credentials compromised last year have not yet been disclosed by hackers, it’s even possible that the true number of hacks could end up being well over 10 million. Kaspersky estimates that the number of infections in 2023 alone is expected to be 16 million.

Researchers also explain that cybercriminals steal an average of 51 login credentials per compromised device. But what do they do with it? Generally, they are then reused to carry out various illicit activities, or to carry out computer attacks. They can also be resold or distributed on the dark web or dark social channels, such as Telegram.

Stolen access credentials are then reused for various purposes

To complete what we were saying about stolen data, we find among them identifiers which open access to accounts of online banking services, social networks, and cryptocurrency wallets. For businesses, we can add services like internal systems and emails. The number of sites whose credentials have been compromised in the last five years is estimated to reach 443,000, according to Kaspersky.

“ Credential leaks pose a major threat, allowing cybercriminals to execute various attacks such as unauthorized access for theft, social engineering or identity theft », alerts Sergey Shcherbel, expert within Kaspersky’s Digital Footprint Intelligence team, to raise awareness.

Finally, we will add that the vast majority of compromised identifiers come from a “.com” extension (326 million), ahead of “.br” (28.8 million), for Brazil, and “.in » (8.2 million), for India. France, with its “.fr”, reports 4.5 million compromised accounts in 2023.