1Malware, PUPs and Angler Exploit Kit Are on the Rise
by Sean Michael Kerner
2Mobile Malware Continues to Grows
In the fourth quarter of 2014, McAfee Labs’ mobile malware tally grew to just over 6 million samples.
3There Are Now 350 Million Malware Samples
Across all forms of malware that it tracks, McAfee Labs now has a collection of 350 million samples. The rate of malware samples continues to grow, with a 17 percent growth rate in the fourth quarter of 2014 compared with the third quarter of 2014.
4The U.S. Hosts the Most Spam Domains
Spam domains can be hosted in any country in the world, but more than half of them are found in the United States.
5Angler Is the Top Exploit Kit
In 2014, McAfee Labs found Angler to be the most prevalent exploit kit in use, followed in second place by Sweet Orange.
6Exploit Kits Don’t Remain Static
Exploit kits tend to have multiple variants, as attackers try out different combinations of tools and techniques. In 2014, the Angler exploit kit also had the most variants across the eight exploit kits tracked in the McAfee Labs report.
7Angler Delivers Multiple Payloads
As an exploit kit, Angler leverages known vulnerabilities to infect a victim with a malicious payload. The actual payloads deployed by Angler varied throughout 2014, with the Zbot Trojan being among the most common payloads.
8Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUPs) on the Rise
Potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) were a concern for Intel Security customers throughout 2014. PUPs include various forms of adware that end up on systems, potentially introducing security and privacy risks.
9Browsefox Is the Most Common PUP
McAfee Labs reported that it sees PUPs on more than 91 million systems in a typical 24-hour period. The Browsefox adware is the most common PUP encountered.