Anybody who thought that 2016 might see a reduction in the number of spam messages being sent is unfortunately in for an unpleasant shock. The number of malicious messages that were sent during the first quarter of 2016 has already exceeded the total for last year. From data gathered by leading web security companies and anti spam software specialists, it is evident that there is going to be no let up in the spam war, not this year at least.
Willing Victims?
Over 2.3 billion malicious email messages were sent during the first three months of this year, with the majority of these – 1.7 billion – occurring in the month of March. Industry experts believe that rapidly accelerating levels of spam are mainly due to the fact there are still so many Internet users who are unwilling or unable to purchase software to protect themselves from malicious emails. Added to this reluctance on the part of end users to take preventative measures is the fact that malware is becoming increasingly easier to buy online.
Tried and Tested Methods
Although there are new techniques being tested by spammers all the time, it is the traditional methods that are still the most popular: malware embedded in Microsoft Office files is still regularly used to deliver Trojans, which then install themselves on recipients’ PCs. Misleading JavaScript code is also often used to deliver the malicious code that wreaks so much havoc on victims’ computers.
Big Profits
Ransomware – malicious code that requires victims to pay a fee in order to have it removed from their systems – provides spammers with an easy way to profit from their activities and is being used to target companies in the healthcare industry and other organisations that are likely to pay handsomely in order to restore their systems to full working order as soon as possible. As long as individuals and commercial organisations fail to take measures to protect themselves, such attacks are only likely to increase in frequency, according to industry insiders.
Instant Cash
Another technique that spammers are using to maximise the profits from their nefarious activities is to impersonate senior executives in large corporations and send emails to those corporations’ finance departments requesting the transfer of funds to untraceable bank accounts. These emails are crafted to appear as completely genuine requests and usually emanate from domain names that are very similar to those of the company being targeted. A recent example that very nearly succeeded occurred when Chinese hackers impersonated the new Mattel CEO in order to request a $3m wire transfer. Fortunately for the US toy giant, the funds were recovered before they could be claimed by the hackers.
Don’t Become a Victim
Whether you run a small firm or a global corporation, taking measures to protect your company from messages containing malware, and from phishing attempts, is of vital importance. At MailCleaner we provide highly effective solutions for governments, educational institutions, and commercial enterprises so please do not hesitate to call if you should need our assistance.