Malware infection rates are extremely low in Europe

Sep 17, 2015 02:09 GMT  ·  By

According to PandaLabs, between April and June of this year, 21 million new strands of malware have been discovered, which comes down to 230,000 per day, 9,500 per hour, 160 per minute, and 2.66 per second.

As PandaLabs researchers point out, most of these new malware types were trojans, which represented 71.16% of the 21 million, while in a distant second came old-school computer viruses, which only amounted to a measly 10.83% of all the Q2 detections.

The majority of these new malware types are simple mutations, represented by basic modifications in the malware's code so the attackers can avoid detection by antivirus laboratories.

Infection rates are higher in Asia and Latin America

The infection statistics are almost the same as the detections dataset, with 76.25% of all infections being attributed to trojans, followed by "other" types of malware, which PandaLabs claims to be mainly made of PUPs (Potentially Unwanted Programs).

Most infected users were recorded in China, with an infection rate of 47.53%, followed by Turkey with 43.11%, Peru with 41.97%, Russia with 41.15%, and Argentina with 40.93%. The rest of the top 10 is rounded off with Bolivia, Taiwan, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Ecuador.

On the other side of the spectrum, the countries with the lowest malware infection rates were Sweden with 21.57%, Norway with 22.22%, Japan with 23.57%, Switzerland with 24.41%, and the UK with 25.71%. The rest of the top 10 is completed by Germany, France, Belgium, Portugal, and Holland.

Cyber-crime activity increased through more organized attacks

Cyber-crime was also big in the second quarter of 2015, according to PandaLabs, the Spanish cyber-security firm observing an increase in the number of ransomware campaigns, along with a rise in attacks targeting mobile devices.

Some of the most notorious attacks include a campaign through which CryptoLocker ransomware was distributed using Word documents, along with one in which mobile users were duped into installing a malicious version of WhatsApp, known in InfoSec circles as WhatsApp Trendy Blue.

This and even more details can be read in the full PandaLabs Report for Q2 2015, available online as a free download.

New malware in Q2 2015
New malware in Q2 2015

PandaLabs Report Q2 2015 (4 Images)

PandaLabs Report Q2 2015 shows an increase in malware
New malware in Q2 2015Countries with the highest malware infection rates
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