McAfee Q1 Threats Report Finds Significant Malware Increase Across All Platforms
McAfee Q1 Threats Report Finds Significant Malware Increase Across All
Platforms Record Quarter for PC and Mobile Malware; Mac Malware Shows Consistent
Growth SANTA CLARA, CA. - May 23, 2012 - McAfee today released the McAfee
Threats Report: First Quarter 2012, which exposes an increase in malware
across all platforms. The report shows that in Q1, PC malware reached
its highest levels in four years, as well as a steep increase in malware
targeting the Android platform. Mac malware was also on the rise,
indicating that total malware could reach the 100 million mark within
the year. “In the first quarter of 2012, we have already detected eight million
new malware samples, showing that malware authors are continuing their
unrelenting development of new malware,” said Vincent Weafer, senior
vice president of McAfee Labs. “The same skills and techniques that
were sharpened on the PC platform are increasingly being extended to
other platforms, such as mobile and Mac; and as more homes and
businesses use these platforms, the attacks will spread, which is why
all users, no matter their platforms, should take security and online
safety precautions.” Mobile Malware Explosion
Mobile malware raced up a significant incline during Q1 2012, with
8,000 total mobile malware samples collected. This large increase was
due in part to McAfee Labs’ advancements in the detection and
accumulation of mobile malware samples. Financial profit is one of the main motivators for spreading malware on
the Android platform, as identified by McAfee Labs malware researcher,
Carlos Castillo, in a recent blog post. Nearly 7,000 Android threats
have been collected and identified through the end of Q1, a more than
1,200 per cent increase compared with the 600 Android samples collected
by the end of Q4 2011. The majority of these threats stem from
third-party app markets and are typically not found in the official
Android market. Malware Increase in PCs and Macs
By the end of 2011, McAfee Labs collected more than 75 million malware
samples. Q1 2012 had the largest number of PC malware detected per
quarter in the last four years. This increase brought the grand total to
83 million pieces of malware samples by the end of Q1, up from 75
million samples at the end of Q4 2011. Major contributors to the total
were strong increases in rootkits, a stealth form of malware, as were
password stealers, which reached approximately one million new samples
in Q1. In Q1, email continued to be a medium used for highly targeted
attacks, and nearly all targeted attacks began with a spear phish. As the Flashback Trojan began to wreak havoc among Apple Mac users in
March, Mac malware had already been growing at a consistent rate.
Despite the growth, Mac malware is still significantly less prevalent
than PC malware, with approximately 250 new Mac malware samples, and
approximately 150 new Mac fake anti-virus malware samples in Q1. Spam Low, Botnets High
Global spam levels dropped to slightly more than one trillion monthly
spam messages by the end of March. Decreases were most
significant in
Brazil, Indonesia and Russia, while increases in spam were found in
China, Germany, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom. Botnet growth increased in Q1, reaching nearly five million infections
at its highest point. Columbia, Japan, Poland, Spain and the United
States were areas with the largest botnet increase, while Indonesia,
Portugal and South Korea were regions that continued to decline. The
most prevalent botnet of Q1 was Cutwail, with more than two million new
infections. McAfee’s report depicts the price breakdown for a botnet sold on the
black market. Citadel, a Zeus variant and financial botnet, will cost a
cybercriminal $2,399 plus $125 for “rent” of a botnet builder and
administration panel, with an extra $395 for automatic updates for
anti-virus evasion. For Darkness, by SVAS/Noncenz, a distributed denial
of service botnet, options range from $450 for a minimal package to
approximately $1,000 for more advanced offerings. United States the Primary Source of Cyberattacks
A compromised machine is often used as a proxy for spam, botnets,
denial of service, or other types of malicious activities. These
machines can be located anywhere in the world, but for Q1, many were
located in the United States. Based on data collected from the McAfee
Global Threat Intelligence™ network, the United States was the primary
source of SQL-injection attacks and cross-site scripting attacks and
also had the highest number of victims of both attacks. The United
States currently houses the most botnet control servers and the location
point for the vast majority of new malicious Web sites, with an average
of 9,000 new bad sites recorded per day. About McAfee
McAfee, a wholly owned subsidiary of Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC),
is the world's largest dedicated security technology company. McAfee
delivers proactive and proven solutions and services that help secure
systems, networks, and mobile devices around the world, allowing users
to safely connect to the Internet, browse and shop the Web more
securely. Backed by its unrivaled Global Threat Intelligence, McAfee
creates innovative products that empower home users, businesses, the
public sector and service providers by enabling them to prove compliance
with regulations, protect data, prevent disruptions, identify
vulnerabilities, and continuously monitor and improve their security.
McAfee is relentlessly focused on constantly finding new ways to keep
our customers safe. http://www.mcafee.com McAfee Canada is headquartered in Markham, Ontario, with regional
offices across Canada. The company's Consumer Software Research and
Development facility in based in Waterloo, Ontario. -30- Note: McAfee is a registered trademark of McAfee, Inc. in the United
States and other countries. Other names and brands may be claimed as the
property of others. For more information, please contact:
Maxine Cheung/Andrew Gouveia
StrategicAmpersand Inc. (for McAfee Canada)
maxine@stratamp.com/andrew@stratamp.com
McAfeePR@stratamp.com
(416) 961-5595 If you do not wish to receive news releases from McAfee Canada please
reply to this e-mail with "remove" in the subject header.
Growth SANTA CLARA, CA. - May 23, 2012 - McAfee today released the McAfee
Threats Report: First Quarter 2012, which exposes an increase in malware
across all platforms. The report shows that in Q1, PC malware reached
its highest levels in four years, as well as a steep increase in malware
targeting the Android platform. Mac malware was also on the rise,
indicating that total malware could reach the 100 million mark within
the year. “In the first quarter of 2012, we have already detected eight million
new malware samples, showing that malware authors are continuing their
unrelenting development of new malware,” said Vincent Weafer, senior
vice president of McAfee Labs. “The same skills and techniques that
were sharpened on the PC platform are increasingly being extended to
other platforms, such as mobile and Mac; and as more homes and
businesses use these platforms, the attacks will spread, which is why
all users, no matter their platforms, should take security and online
safety precautions.” Mobile Malware Explosion
Mobile malware raced up a significant incline during Q1 2012, with
8,000 total mobile malware samples collected. This large increase was
due in part to McAfee Labs’ advancements in the detection and
accumulation of mobile malware samples. Financial profit is one of the main motivators for spreading malware on
the Android platform, as identified by McAfee Labs malware researcher,
Carlos Castillo, in a recent blog post. Nearly 7,000 Android threats
have been collected and identified through the end of Q1, a more than
1,200 per cent increase compared with the 600 Android samples collected
by the end of Q4 2011. The majority of these threats stem from
third-party app markets and are typically not found in the official
Android market. Malware Increase in PCs and Macs
By the end of 2011, McAfee Labs collected more than 75 million malware
samples. Q1 2012 had the largest number of PC malware detected per
quarter in the last four years. This increase brought the grand total to
83 million pieces of malware samples by the end of Q1, up from 75
million samples at the end of Q4 2011. Major contributors to the total
were strong increases in rootkits, a stealth form of malware, as were
password stealers, which reached approximately one million new samples
in Q1. In Q1, email continued to be a medium used for highly targeted
attacks, and nearly all targeted attacks began with a spear phish. As the Flashback Trojan began to wreak havoc among Apple Mac users in
March, Mac malware had already been growing at a consistent rate.
Despite the growth, Mac malware is still significantly less prevalent
than PC malware, with approximately 250 new Mac malware samples, and
approximately 150 new Mac fake anti-virus malware samples in Q1. Spam Low, Botnets High
Global spam levels dropped to slightly more than one trillion monthly
spam messages by the end of March. Decreases were most
significant in
Brazil, Indonesia and Russia, while increases in spam were found in
China, Germany, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom. Botnet growth increased in Q1, reaching nearly five million infections
at its highest point. Columbia, Japan, Poland, Spain and the United
States were areas with the largest botnet increase, while Indonesia,
Portugal and South Korea were regions that continued to decline. The
most prevalent botnet of Q1 was Cutwail, with more than two million new
infections. McAfee’s report depicts the price breakdown for a botnet sold on the
black market. Citadel, a Zeus variant and financial botnet, will cost a
cybercriminal $2,399 plus $125 for “rent” of a botnet builder and
administration panel, with an extra $395 for automatic updates for
anti-virus evasion. For Darkness, by SVAS/Noncenz, a distributed denial
of service botnet, options range from $450 for a minimal package to
approximately $1,000 for more advanced offerings. United States the Primary Source of Cyberattacks
A compromised machine is often used as a proxy for spam, botnets,
denial of service, or other types of malicious activities. These
machines can be located anywhere in the world, but for Q1, many were
located in the United States. Based on data collected from the McAfee
Global Threat Intelligence™ network, the United States was the primary
source of SQL-injection attacks and cross-site scripting attacks and
also had the highest number of victims of both attacks. The United
States currently houses the most botnet control servers and the location
point for the vast majority of new malicious Web sites, with an average
of 9,000 new bad sites recorded per day. About McAfee
McAfee, a wholly owned subsidiary of Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC),
is the world's largest dedicated security technology company. McAfee
delivers proactive and proven solutions and services that help secure
systems, networks, and mobile devices around the world, allowing users
to safely connect to the Internet, browse and shop the Web more
securely. Backed by its unrivaled Global Threat Intelligence, McAfee
creates innovative products that empower home users, businesses, the
public sector and service providers by enabling them to prove compliance
with regulations, protect data, prevent disruptions, identify
vulnerabilities, and continuously monitor and improve their security.
McAfee is relentlessly focused on constantly finding new ways to keep
our customers safe. http://www.mcafee.com McAfee Canada is headquartered in Markham, Ontario, with regional
offices across Canada. The company's Consumer Software Research and
Development facility in based in Waterloo, Ontario. -30- Note: McAfee is a registered trademark of McAfee, Inc. in the United
States and other countries. Other names and brands may be claimed as the
property of others. For more information, please contact:
Maxine Cheung/Andrew Gouveia
StrategicAmpersand Inc. (for McAfee Canada)
maxine@stratamp.com/andrew@stratamp.com
McAfeePR@stratamp.com
(416) 961-5595 If you do not wish to receive news releases from McAfee Canada please
reply to this e-mail with "remove" in the subject header.