Global Security Report: End of Year 2016

Botnets are making malware and spam campaigns more accessible than ever, notes AppRiver’s 2016 Global Security Report. Botnets’ range is considered to be primarily behind the escalation in malware activity—which clocked in at 15.5 billion malicious emails and 30.4 billion spam emails during 2016. The AppRiver report also delves into metrics from Web-borne threats, reporting an average of 40 million unique threats daily throughout the second quarter.

The report notes that in addition to traditional hardware like personal computers, the Internet of Things (IoT) delivers a new catalog of devices that can be hacked for nefarious purposes. Smart watches, mobile phones and smart assistants offer botnets millions more devices that can be used to deliver their malware campaigns, or even to gather data on unfortunate consumers.

The report also includes predictions for 2017, including:

“When Mirai was used to take down Dyn last year, it cast a light on the lack of security protecting IoT devices,” said Troy Gill, manager of security research, AppRiver. “At inception, most devices are created with convenience and fun in mind, not all of the ‘what-ifs’ behind security vulnerabilities. This leads to many security vulnerabilities in the devices, which of course are exploited by hackers.”

We’ve included more details on these attacks and statistics in our Global Security Report. To read the full report and watch our discussion on our findings, visit 2016 Global Security Report.

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