Big rises in old threats
New types of ransomware increased 165 percent in the first quarter of 2015, according to Intel Security's McAfee Labs Threats Report for May 2015 (PDF). The rapid rise was driven in large part by the CTB-Locker ransomware family, which McAfee Labs says is difficult to detect, along with a new rasnomware family called Teslacrype and the emergence of new versions of Cryptowall, TorrentLocker, and BandarChor.
Ransomare isn't the security threat that proved popular last quarter. McAfee Labs also warned that new Adobe Flash malware samples skyrocketed 317 percent. This is due in part because of Flash's lingering popularity along with a big increase in the number of mobile devices that can play Adobe Flash files (.swf).
To Adobe's credit, it's fixing vulnerabilities just as fast as they're discovered. Of the 42 new threats submitted to the National Vulnerability Database in the first quarter, Adobe made available initial fixes for each and every one of them on the same day.
"With the popularity of a product like Flash, there comes a tremendous responsibility to proactively identify and mitigate security issues potentially threatening millions of users," said Vincent Weafer, senior vice president, McAfee Labs. "This research nicely illustrates how the tech industry works together constructively to gain an advantage in the realm of cybersecurity – industry partners sharing threat intelligence, and technology providers acting on information quickly to help prevent potential issues."
It's always important to keep in mind that security vendors have a vested interest in reporting malware statistics. Even so, McAfee Labs noted a "slight decline" in new PC malware in the first quarter, along with a reduction in SSL-related attacks. However, it was just the opposite on the mobile side, which saw a 49 percent sequential jump in malware.
From maximumpc
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