The US, Brazil and India are the main targets of hacker attacks, according to a Trend Micro study
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Brazil is the second country in the world most vulnerable to cyberattacks, according to a new report released by cybersecurity firm Trend Micro. The Latin nation is only surpassed by the United States in the number of blocked threats in the first half of 2023.
According to the report, around 85.6 billion threats were blocked worldwide in the first half of the year – the number already represents 59% of the total recorded in 2022. After the US and Brazil, India ranks third in the list of countries most targeted by hacker attacks.
The main channel used by cyber criminals to attack victims was malicious files, the Trend Micro report noted. In total, there were 45.9 billion attacks recorded in H1, which corresponds to 53.6% of the total blocks carried out by the company in the first six months of the year.
Brazil targeted by more than 1,500 malware infection attempts every minute, according to a separate report, released by cybersecurity firm Kaspersky. While there has been a slight decrease in malware attacks in Latin America between June 2022 and the same month in 2023, with a 3% drop in the 12-month comparison between 2022 and 2021, Brazil still leads the region’s cyber threats landscape, the study noted.
Some 1.19 billion cyberattack blocks were recorded in total between June 2022 and June 2023, which represents an average of 37.9 attempted attacks per second in Latin America. Brazil is the main target of these attacks and recorded an average of 1,515 blocks per minute, according to the report, which represents a 12% drop compared to the 2022/2021 period.
Piracy is cited as the main reason for the current cybersecurity scenario in Brazil, topping the list of threats, along with adware and other malicious software that floods users with unsolicited advertising.
Similarly to the Trend Micro report, the Kaspersky research also noted that cyber criminals continue to employ common techniques such as fraudulent messages and emails with malicious files attached.
The culture of trying to obtain services for free via the piracy route is strong in Brazil and ends up exposing internet users to danger, the report said, calling for a need to digitally re-educate Brazilians, and get them to adopt safe habits in their digital routines.
When it comes to the most attacked sectors, the Kaspersky study lists government, followed by agribusiness, retail/wholesale, industry and education as the types of organizations where cybersecurity issues are more common.
Source link : https://www.forbes.com/sites/angelicamarideoliveira/2023/09/27/brazil-is-the-worlds-second-most-vulnerable-country-to-cyberattacks/
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Publish date : 2023-09-27 03:00:00
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