New Malware Sample Detection Hits Record High, McAfee Reports

More new malware samples were detected in the third quarter of 2017 than in any previous quarter, according to security firm McAfee. The December 2017 McAfee Labs Threat Report revealed that 57.6 million new malware samples were detected in the third quarter, up 10 percent from second quarter of 2017. As part of the new malware surge, there was an increase in new ransomware, which rose by 36 percent on a quarterly basis, according to McAfee. Looking at the top network attacks, McAfee reported that SMB (Server Message Block), which is used to help enable network file and folder sharing, was the top network attack vector in the third quarter. In this slide show, eWEEK looks at some of the highlights from the December 2017 McAfee Labs Threat Report.

In the third quarter of 2017, McAfee reported that it saw 57.6 million new malware samples, which was a record high.

On a year-over-year basis, the percentage of McAfee’s global mobile customers reporting infections grew.

While the majority of all new malware is targeted at Windows, Apple’s macOS remains in attackers’ sights as well. New macOS malware was up by 41 percent in the third quarter of 2017 from the second quarter.

Attackers use botnets for various purposes, including distributing spam. In the third quarter of 2017, the Gamut botnet was the most prevalent spam botnet as seen by McAfee.

Botnets are managed via command and control servers that can be located anywhere in the world. In the third quarter of 2017, McAfee found that 39 percent of all botnet control servers were hosted in the U.S.

The volume of new ransomware samples grew by 36 percent in the third quarter over the second quarter of 2017. McAfee attributed the gain to an increase in Android screen locking ransomware threats.

SMB (Server Message Block), which is used to help enable network file and folder sharing, was the top network attack vector in the third quarter. The WannaCry and NotPetya ransomware attacks both made use of SMB vulnerabilities to propagate across a network.