Report finds that enterprise security threats are on the rise

A recent report from software company Malwarebytes indicates that enterprise security threats are rising steadily this year. In fact, the research found that business detections increased by approximately 7% from the previous quarter.

Enterprise security threats increase

While consumer detections declined by nearly 40%, detections of threats to businesses continued to rise. Overall, however, this equated to "a dip in malware volume of 35 percent quarter over quarter."

In comparison to Q1 2018, business detections have soared by 235% but consumer detections dropped 24% year over year. This thus reinforces the company's observation that cybercriminals are increasingly choosing to target enterprises.

Detections of trojans on business endpoints also increased by over 200% from the previous quarter, which amounts to a 650% increase from the same time last year. Moreover, Q1 2019 saw a 195% increase of ransomware detections since Q4 2018.

Despite this, consumer detections of ransomware decreased by 10% quarter over quarter, and by 33% year over year. In effect, enterprise security threats are continuing to rise and businesses are thus increasingly vulnerable to attack.

Looking ahead

As the report indicates, enterprises are facing a number of potential security dangers this year. Overall, "these threats span from new vulnerabilities to organisations struggling with the influx of threats to their infrastructure and reputation."

Indeed, Malwarebytes also predicts that small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) will experience an increase of threats. As attackers attempt to exploit "still active vulnerabilities and maximise their victim count," SMBs could face a "flood of threats."

In addition, the company anticipates that ransomware development and resurgence will continue. As a result, "we may see an intense campaign against businesses with the intent to ransom as much as possible."

Finally, the report indicates that there will be fewer ransomware attacks against consumers. For businesses, however, enterprise security threats will ultimately continue to steadily increase.

Check out our latest opinion piece, in which Max reviews a recent discussion at the Houses of Parliament around AI and analytics