Check Point® Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP), a leading provider of cyber security solutions globally, today revealed the cyber threat landscape for the UAE in the last six months. The latest threat intelligence report shows that on average an organization in the UAE has been targeted for attack 295 times per week in the last six months. The most impacted industry is the finance and banking sector with 407 weekly attacks per organization, followed by hospitality and the retail industry with 118 and 107 weekly attacks respectively.
The increased use of mobiles during global lockdowns has also driven growth in banking and information-stealing mobile Trojans. Most organizations had at least one employee download a malicious mobile application, which threatens their networks and data.
The most common vulnerability exploit type in UAE was Remote Code Execution, which impacted 62% of businesses. Information Disclosure vulnerability exploits impact around 59% of the organizations. Trickbot which is a botnet and banking trojan that steals financial details, account credentials, and personally identifiable information, as well as spread within a network and drop ransomware, has been the most prevalent malware in the UAE since the beginning of the year, impacting 14% of organizations as of June 2021 with a global impact of 7 percent. xHelper which is an Android malware that mainly shows intrusive popup ads and notification spam has taken the second spot impacting 4% of the organizations, as Floxif makes its way out of the list in June.
Ram Narayanan, Country Manager, Check Point Software Technologies, Middle East said: “Today’s security landscape is more complex than ever before. With cyber threats becoming more strenuous to determine and remediate, having a complete view and understanding of the network can prevent cyberattacks. We are now experiencing a ‘ransomware pandemic’ and see attack after attack dominate headlines. Hackers have gone after businesses across industries, and I believe that it will only get worse. It is safe to say that ransomware is now one of the largest national security threats we face. Apart from ransomware, we are also seeing a huge surge in the number of cyberattacks like phishing and malware attempts. Businesses need to be aware of the risks and ensure adequate solutions are in place, but also remember that attacks cannot only be detected, they can also be prevented, including zero-day attacks and unknown malware. With the right technologies in place, even the most advanced attacks can be prevented without disrupting the normal business flow.”
Check Point Software’s Threat Intelligence Report is based on data from Check Point’s ThreatCloud intelligence, the largest collaborative network for fighting cybercrime which delivers threat data and attack trends from a global network of threat sensors; from Check Point’s research investigations over the last 6 months; and on recent survey reports by Check Point of IT professionals and C-level executives. The report examines the latest emerging threats across industry sectors and gives a comprehensive overview of the trends observed in the malware landscape, in emerging data breach vectors, and in nation-state cyber-attacks. It also includes expert analysis from Check Point’s thought leaders; to help organizations understand and prepare themselves for today´s and tomorrow’s complex threat landscape.
