{"id":6966,"date":"2021-05-14T07:58:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-14T15:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cheapsslsecurity.com\/blog\/?p=6966"},"modified":"2022-03-21T22:00:51","modified_gmt":"2022-03-22T06:00:51","slug":"10-types-of-malware-your-it-guy-warned-you-about","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cheapsslsecurity.com\/blog\/10-types-of-malware-your-it-guy-warned-you-about\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Types of Malware Your IT Guy Warned You About"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

McAfee Labs reports<\/a> observing more than 1.4 billion malware detections in Q4 2020 \u2014 and that number that doesn\u2019t include Q1-Q3 2020 data! We\u2019ll explore 10 types of malicious software you need to know to protect yourself in 2021.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The threat of malware is growing every minute. McAfee Labs reports observing 648 malware threats per minute<\/em> in Q4 2020 in their Threat Report 04.21. As you can imagine, knowing the different types of malware and exploring some real-world malware examples will help you understand how better to protect yourself and your organization from these pernicious threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Malware is a blanket term for all software programs and code that people create with malicious intent. A layman might find the word \u201ccomputer virus\u201d more relatable, but a virus is just one type of malware. Not all types of malware are viruses. (We talked about that in another recent article on the differences between viruses and malware.) So, what are the different types of malicious software? Let\u2019s look at some of the types of malware and how they affect us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10 Types of Malware That Can Affect Your Business<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Malware is a broad categorical term that encompasses many types of malware \u2014 as such, segregating it into a handful of specific types is difficult. That\u2019s because malware categories sometimes overlap and some cybercriminals use multiple types of malware to achieve their goals. To create a botnet, for example, bad guys can use various types of malicious software and code to infect and control devices (trojans, viruses, keyloggers, etc.).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keeping all of this in mind, let\u2019s look at the fundamental types of malware and how cybercriminals use them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Ransomware<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Ransomware is a type of malware that prevents you from accessing your data and\/or devices until you meet an attacker\u2019s specific demands. Typically, the bad guy demands a ransom (typically a cryptocurrency payment in exchange for a decryption key or code that will free of the victim\u2019s compromised resource(s). But even if the cybercriminal receives the ransom, they may not follow through with providing the victim with a valid decryption key or code.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This type of cyber-attack is gaining momentum in the digital world. This, no doubt, is largely thanks to the successful monetization of ransomware attacks and the availability of ransomware-as-a-service operations. In their April 2021 report we mentioned earlier, McAfee observed a 69% increase in new malware variants from Q3 to Q4 2020. Among ransomware attacks, some malware families took precedence over the others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The following chart shows the most observed ransomware families in the year 2020:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Types
Data source: McAfee Labs Threat Report 04.21<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The FBI\u2019s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) reports<\/a> that they saw an increase in ransomware attack reports against the U.S. public over the last three years. Moreover, the ransom amounts demanded also increased in 2020. The chart below shows the number of complaints and losses complainants suffered over the last three years:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Data source: FBI IC3 Report 2020<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The chart shows the data of the three most recent years recorded by the IC3 team. The chart explicitly indicates that the rise of the average loss due to ransomware is much higher than the number of ransomware attacks. This clarifies that the losses incurred by the victims due to ransomware are rising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The State of Ransomware 2020<\/a> report by Sophos ranks the U.S. sixth globally for the highest rates of known ransomware attacks. The following chart shows the top 10 countries where Sophos reports organizations were hit by ransomware in the previous year:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Data source: Sophos\u2019s The State of Ransomware 2020 report.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

An Example of a Ransomware Attack: REvil<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The data shows the widespread reach of ransomware as malware. Would you believe me if I told you that the tech giant Acer was recently hit by a REvil ransomware attack<\/a>? (Although it\u2019s important to note that BleepingComputer reports that Acer hasn\u2019t openly admitted to the incident involving ransomware. They just said that they observed \u201cabnormal situations\u201d within their IT systems.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this situation, BleepingComputer also reports that cybercriminals allegedly demanded a ransom of $50 million. The threat actors also published extracts of the company\u2019s financial data on REvil ransomware site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check out this article on ransomware<\/a> to learn more about this type of malware, how it works, and how to prevent it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Computer Viruses<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A computer virus is a malicious code that attaches itself to critical hard drive files or executables. When a victim runs the infected files or installs an infected program, they inadvertently activate the virus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Data source: FBI IC3 Internet Crime Report 2020.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A virus is, perhaps, the most recognizable kind of malware in the general public. Whenever a normal person (non-geeky kind) talks about any kind of malware, they often use the terms \u201cvirus\u201d and \u201cmalware\u201d interchangeably. Although a virus is a type of malware, you now know that malware includes many different types of malware, including but not limited to viruses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because computer viruses typically attach themselves to legitimate programs and files, they\u2019re difficult to detect and remove. A micro-organism requires a human host to infect and spread further. In much the same way, a computer virus also needs a human to install or run the infected program\/file to infect the system and spread to other computers. As the virus infects other files, the only way to clear them out is to remove the infected programs or files from the system or quarantine them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But how prolific are computer viruses? The FBI IC3 reported 1,423 cases of computer malware\/scareware\/viruses, causing $6.9 million in damage to the U.S. public in 2020 alone. (Note: this estimate does not include ransomware, which the IC3 categorized separately in their report.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An Example of a Well-Known Computer Virus: Thanatos<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

MalwareHunterTeam discovered a ransomware-style virus<\/a> called Thanatos in 2017. This virus could enter your IT systems through seemingly harmless sources, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n