The biggest Cyber Crime trends of This year

Cybercriminals are using more advanced and scalable tools to breach user privacy, and they are getting results. Two billion data records were compromised in 2017, and more than 4.5 billion records were breached in the first half of 2018 alone. Here are the most pressing cybersecurity issues in 2019, as well as rising trends into 2020. 

1) Advanced phishing kits: Four new malware samples are created every second. Phishing remains one of the most successful attack vectors due to its speed, as most phishing sites stay online for just four to five hours. Users only report 17% of phishing attacks, and it is seen as a low-risk type of activity. As a result, today only 65% of all URLs are considered trustworthy. This puts a strain on both the consumer and any enterprise with an online presence. 

We predict that 2020 will be known for advanced phishing attacks, due to the number of new phishing kits available on the dark web. These kits enable people with only basic technical knowledge to run their own phishing attacks. With more tools available, phishing will become an even more dangerous attack method. 

2) Remote access attacks: Remote attacks are growing in number, as well as becoming more sophisticated. One of the main types of remote access attacks in 2018 was crypto-jacking, which targeted cryptocurrency owners. Another popular type of attack threatened perimeter devices.

3) Attacks via smartphones: One of the most common attack vectors to smartphones is related to unsafe browsing (phishing, spear phishing, malware). More than 60% of fraud online is accomplished through mobile platforms, according to RSA, and 80% of mobile fraud is achieved through mobile apps instead of mobile web browsers.