11.01.2021 10:45 am

Cyber dangers in 2022: What you can expect and how to protect yourself

Charts are immensely popular. People are downright passionate about ranking virtually everything under the sun these days. Schwanger.at lists the most popular first names in Japan, Camping.info the 110 most popular campsites in Europe, Cosmopolitan the hottest hairstyles of the year (the Gelly Bob! The Choppy Cut!) – nothing and no one is immune to finding themselves on a ranking list sooner or later.

While most of these rankings are quite entertaining, others have very little to do with fun and games. The latter category includes the lists that address the greatest cyber threats that companies and private users are currently exposed to and are likely to be exposed to in the near future.

Although there are certainly more relaxing activities than reading up on how criminal malware works, computer and mobile device users are nevertheless well-advised to keep up with the latest malware trends.

The Centre for Internet Security, for example, offers an overview of the current “Top 10 malware”. Its charts, which are updated on a monthly basis, provide useful insights into the dynamics of the malware that is developed with plenty of criminal energy, while giving indications about the trends that threat scenarios are most likely to take in the coming months.

So what are we likely to be facing more of in 2022? Here is a top 5:

 

Clop ransomware
This new variant of the well-known extortion software is particularly malicious. It spreads via executable files that are marked as unproblematic by digital signature.

 

Fake Windows updates
Another new ransomware attack variant prompts users to immediately install the latest security-critical Windows updates.

 

Fleeceware
While this form of malware does not immediately endanger users’ programmes and data, it does pose a threat to their wallets by continuing to collect fees for the use of iOS and Android apps even though they have long since been deleted.

 

AI attacks
Internet security solution providers have been using artificial intelligence for some time now to combat malware attacks more effectively. This technology is nevertheless also increasingly used by the other side and is likely to cause incalculable damage worldwide in 2022.

 

Cryptojacking attacks
The continued boom of Bitcoin and the like and the high mining costs have given rise to a form of malware that gains access to third-party computers and uses their computing power to mine cryptocurrencies.

 

This list is of course by no means exhaustive. 2022 will unfortunately see a whole host of other highly unwelcome PC visitors. However, the recommendation to protect yourself with a security solution that integrates state-of-the-art backup technologies, behaviour-based detection and prevention of malware attacks as well as crypto-mining blockers based on artificial intelligence will continue to apply just as much next year as it does now. This is the Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office solution, which, under the name Acronis Cyber Protect, has already topped the Internet security solution charts in the past.



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