Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ:SYMC) has released a study based on its global intelligence networks of 41.5 million attack sensors that monitor cyber threat activity in over 157 countries. The Data from the Internet Security Threat Report (ISTR) was published by the Symantec during the ongoing INTERPOL World.
The ISTR showed that cyber threats had been created at the rate of 1 million per day as mobile apps becomes the new and growing platform to disclose data. According to the study, people are exposed to more cyber threats than imagined. The total number of breaches increased 23% in 2014.
The number of braches involving more than 10 million exposed identities has halved to 4 from 8 in 2013. However, one in five of the breached companies did not report about the breach of identity.
The study also uncovered 24 zero-day vulnerabilities that are vulnerabilities which the vendor does not know of. The figure is a record high in the last twenty years.
According to Peter Sparkes, Symantec’s senior director of Cyber Security Services Asia Pacific and Japan, the industries facing most number of attacks are oil, retail, and manufacturing. He also added that healthcare related industry is also emerging as a new target due to medical records.
The survey reported that there was a total of 317 million malware were detected in 2014 which is a 26% increase from the year before. Mobile apps have become the new targets for such malware.
Symantec analyzed 6.3 million mobile apps and classified 1 in 6 as malware and 2.3 as graywares that are apps with no current harm but an ability to become a malware. The survey further states that the major way to get malware is clicking the “accept” button.
1 in 4 users admitted not knowing the access they gave away while agreeing to the terms and conditions of the app. About 66% of app users were willing to trade privacy for a free app.
