IoT malware up over 200 percent in 2018

New malware targeting IoT devices grew 72 percent, with total malware growing 203 percent in the last four quarters according to McAfee's third quarter threat report.

This growth has been partly due to devices being harnessed for cryptomining. IoT devices such as cameras or video recorders have not typically been used for this because they lack the CPU power of desktop and laptop computers.

However, cybercriminals have taken notice of the growing volume and lax security of many IoT devices and have begun to focus on them, harnessing thousands of devices to create a mining super-computer. New coin-mining malware grew nearly 55 percent, with total malware growing 4,467 percent in the last four quarters.

The company has also noted a shift in the cybercriminal underground, with many moving away from using larger markets to sell their goods and creating their own specialized shops. This shift has sparked a new line of business for website designers offering to build hidden marketplaces for aspiring shady business owners.

"Cybercriminals are very opportunistic in nature," says John Fokker, head of cybercriminal investigations at McAfee. "The cyberthreats we face today once began as conversations on hidden forums and grew into products and services available on underground markets. Additionally, the strong brands we see emerging offer a lot to cybercriminals: higher infection rates, and both operational and financial security."

Among other findings are an increase in fileless malware, with new JavaScript malware up 45 percent, while new PowerShell malware grew 24 percent. The total number of publicly disclosed security incidents dropped 12 percent compared to Q2, but incidents targeting financial organizations were up 20 percent. There has also been a geographic shift with disclosed incidents targeting the Americas down 18 percent, Asia-Pacific down 22 percent, but Europe up by 38 percent.

There's much more detail in the full report available from the McAfee website.

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