Metro Cities Are The Targets Of Cybercriminals. Here’s How Can You Save Yourself From Malware-Related Attacks

As cybercrimes become more common and cybercriminals begin to expand their grasp, major metropolitan cities are seen as their prime targets. 

The gravity of the situation can be calculated just by looking at the condition of Chennai, which received nearly 8 million malware-related attacks in 2020 alone. 

An official report by QuickHeal states that over 80,000 malware threats were detected and blocked every hour. The total number of ransomware attacks reached 1.91 million.

Attackers used the pandemic to their benefit and milked money from it. The government made it mandatory to have the Arogya Setu app installed on your smartphones. 

People also checked the internet and Social Media regularly for information related to Covid-19. Attackers took this to their advantage and started creating and spreading fake links related to Covid-19. When the users clicked these links, malicious files got loaded into their systems, most of which were detected and blocked by their antivirus software. 

The phishing links weren’t only related to covid-19, but other things like Job offers, free internet, online money, etc. 

QuickHeal has said that people are becoming more familiar with using digital tools and antivirus software to secure their systems. But there’s still a long way to go as most people are not aware of healthy practices while surfing the internet. 

The most detected malware (in order) were: Trojan, Infector, Worm, and Potentially Unwanted Applications (PUA). Ransomware still has it’s in the threat landscape as it continued to encrypt sensitive user data which the attackers sold on the dark web in exchange for money.

Himanshu Dubey, the Director of QuickHeal Total Security has said that people need to understand and follow basic cybersecurity measures like setting strong passwords, avoiding performing critical operations while using public Wi-Fi, using multi-factor authentication, and changing their passwords on a regular basis. 

Protect yourself from Malware attacks: Take these measures

1. Do not perform critical operations like online banking while using public Wi-Fi.

2. Always have antivirus software installed on your systems and keep it enabled.

3. Never open suspicious-looking links as they might be phishing links.

4. Change your passwords on a regular basis, and always keep strong passwords.

5. Try to use multi-factor authentication for better security.

6. Never download pirated software from the internet as they might be infected with malware. 

7. Never believe in the information coming from untrusted sources. 

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