Targeted cyber-attacks drastically increased in 2013, with a 91% increase in “spear-phishing” incidents, according to the Internet Security Threat Report 2014 by software company Symantec.
The report refers to 2013 as “the year of the mega breach” because of the high number of security breaches, a 62% increase from 2012. Just eight of the many breaches in 2013 revealed more than 10 million identities each.
Ransomware attacks, a malware that blocks access to a computer and demands a ransom from the user to fix it, increased by 500% throughout 2013.
The report predicts more ransomware growth for 2014, with consumers and small businesses facing the highest risk of attack. One in five small businesses in 2013 got targeted by at least one spear-phishing attack.
Contributing to the risk of cyber-attacks in 2013 was the lack of precautions taken by users. The report showed that only half of users take basic safety measures to protect their data and files.
Mobile users are engaging in risky behaviors like sharing their passwords or saving personal and work information in the same accounts. Mobile scams in 2013 were especially prevalent through mobile apps.
Social media users also engaged in dangerous behavior in 2013, like sharing passwords or connecting with people they don’t know.
Scams that offered fake freebies were the most frequent cause of Facebook attacks (81%). Twelve percent of people who use social media reported having one of their accounts hacked with the attacker going online and pretending to be them.
More than 552 million identities were uncovered during data breaches in 2013, a 62% increase in breaches from 2012, according to the report.
Other major findings include a 23% increase in web-based cyber-attacks and discovering that one in eight legitimate websites display critical vulnerabilities.
More than 19,000 vendors in over 157 countries were used as data sources in the report. The purpose of the report is to help businesses and consumers learn more about threats and how to best prevent them.
