Chennai has recorded the highest number of cyber attacks in India during the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2020, according to the Cyber Threat Monitor Report released by city-based K7 Computing.

The report analysed various cyber attacks within India during the period and found that threat actors targeted Chennai with a variety of attacks aimed at exploiting user trust and enterprise vulnerabilities. The ‘infection’ rate in Chennai stood at 42 per cent, followed by Patna at 38 per cent and Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kolkata at 35 per cent each, says a press release from K7 Computing.

In Tier-I cities, threat actors predominantly targeted SMEs by exploiting vulnerabilities caused by the sudden shift to working from home. However, the report found that there was an 8 per cent decrease in the overall rate of cyber attacks in the country during the fourth quarter in comparison to the previous quarter.

Complex attacks

Threat actors continued to exploit vulnerabilities in outdated software and operating systems in this quarter. Windows XP and Windows 7 were the most at risk, as Microsoft has stopped providing updates and patches to these versions. The report revealed that attacks by rootkits like Curveball, Remote Code Execution, phishing attacks based on Covid-19 trends, and DOS attacks were popular. Complex USB attacks also saw an increase; popular among these were crypto mining malware.

“SMEs and SOHOs (small office, home office) must invest more in ensuring the safety of their IT infrastructure. We are seeing an increasing trend of threat actors targeting enterprises with complex viruses, Trojans, and even ransomware. On an individual level, the current risks facing users are fake apps, Covid-19 apps infected with malware, and phishing attacks. The most worrying of all is the new trend of many advanced threat actors offering malware as a service to cyber criminals,” said J Kesavardhanan, founder and CEO of K7 Computing.

Experts at K7 Labs predict that the number of Covid-19 themed attacks and complex Trojan attacks will continue to increase in the next quarter. This will be further exacerbated by the increase in threats from amateur attackers who purchase malware-related services to launch attacks at various individual and enterprise targets. To help mitigate these threats, experts at K7 Computing advise netizens to keep their systems updated with the latest patches, avoid using pirated software, install and use a reputed antivirus product, and practice proper digital hygiene, the report said.

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