OpenText, a leading provider of enterprise information management solutions, has released its 2023 Cybersecurity Threat Report, highlighting the latest threats and risks for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and consumers. The report, powered by the BrightCloud Threat Intelligence Platform, breaks down a range of threat activity, provides insight into observed trends, and discusses impacts on industries, geographies, companies, and individuals.
According to the report, cyber attackers have continued to deploy both longstanding and new techniques to infiltrate networks, with a significant increase in concealing the location of URLs hosting malware and phishing sites. The percentage of malicious URLs hidden behind a proxy or geolocation-masking service increased 36% YoY, while legitimate sites are also being compromised for nefarious purposes.
Despite the rise in cyber attacks, the report also revealed a decline in malware infections, with Prentiss Donohue, Executive Vice President of OpenText Cybersecurity, noting that “a decline in malware infections indicates comprehensive security measures are effective. Cybercriminals are equal opportunity offenders. Acknowledging risks and preparing accordingly with a multilayered approach to protecting data are recommended courses of action for businesses of every size.”
The report provides several key highlights, including a 16.7% YoY decline in malware on endpoints, with manufacturing being the most targeted industry vertical. Email phishing continues to be the primary vector for infection, followed by remote desktop protocol (RDP), with over one billion unwanted emails classified as phishing. Meanwhile, ransomware campaigns are becoming more sophisticated, with double extortion from data exfiltration commonplace in campaigns, and median ransomware payments skyrocketing to almost $200k, up from $70k last year.
The report also highlights the importance of a multilayered approach to cybersecurity, with a 40.3% reduction in the number of devices encountering malware for users adopting all three layers of protection, including Webroot SecureAnywhere, Webroot Security Awareness Training, and Webroot DNS Protection, versus devices using Webroot SecureAnywhere alone.
OpenText Cybersecurity provides comprehensive security solutions for companies and partners of all sizes. From prevention, detection and response to recovery, investigation and compliance, OpenText’s unified end-to-end platform helps customers build cyber resilience via a holistic security portfolio. The company’s real-time and contextual threat intelligence provides actionable insights for high efficacy products, a compliant experience, and simplified security to help manage business risk.
The 2023 OpenText Cybersecurity Threat Report is available on the company’s website.
