Mobile Ransomware Increasingly Targeting US, Kaspersky Reports

Ransomware attacks are growing around the world but not at uniform rates, and they differ depending on whether the victim is on a desktop or mobile device, according to Kaspersky Lab’s “Ransomware in 2016-2017” report, which was released on June 26. Worldwide between April 2016 and March 2017, Kaspersky Lab found that the number of users who encountered ransomware rose by 11.4 percent year-over-year—from 2,315,931 to 2,581,026 users. Mobile malware, however, declined by 4.62 percent over the same period, from 136,532 users in 2015-2016 to 130,232 in 2016-2017. While mobile malware declined globally, attacks have increasingly targeted mobile users in the United States. In this slide show, eWEEK takes a look at some of the highlights of the Kaspersky Lab “Ransomware in 2016-2017” report.

Kaspersky Lab found that the total number of users who encountered ransomware in the past year rose by 11.4 percent year-over-year, from 2,315,931 to 2,581,026 users.

On the desktop, a wide number of different types of ransomware malware are attacking users, Kaspersky Lab found.

While ransomware can impact users anywhere in the world, Kaspersky Lab’s analysis shows that users in Turkey are being attacked more than other parts of the world.

Mobile malware attacks declined by 4.62 percent in the past year, according to Kaspersky Lab, from 136,532 users in 2015-2016 to 130,232 in 2016-2017.

The United States is the top target of mobile ransomware, followed closely by Canada, according to Kaspersky Lab.

While there are multiple types of ransomware malware that are impacting desktop users, when it comes to mobile devices, Fusob dominates with 65 percent of infections.

Looking at the total volume of users attacked with any type of malware over 2015-2017, Kaspersky Lab found that attacks in 2017 so far have remained steady.