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According to a recent report released by PandaLabs, last year users saw a total of 30 million emerging malware strains. In other words, an average of 82,000 new malware samples were developed every day in 2013.

Currently, the security research firm as a database of 145 million unique malicious programs, according to ITWeb. The report also showed that a number of advanced attack styles emerged last year, some of which continue to threat system security into this year and today.

Last year's malware at a glance
One of the most popular samples was Trojans, which established three out every four infections, or 71 percent of invasions in 2013. Additionally, Java vulnerabilities also caused a majority of malware attacks last year, where hackers leverage unpatched, exploitable weak points to infect users. ITWeb noted that a number of major companies, including Facebook, Apple, Microsoft and Twitter were all victims of attacks that came as a result of unpatched Java programs.

Last year, users also saw a growing number of mobile malware samples, specifically on the Android platform. PandaLabs report stated that more than 2 million mobile malware strains were created in 2013, many of which came in the form of malware-laced advertisements in applications. However, this practice is evolving to target a smaller amount of users by adjusting legitimate files to exploit specific devices. In this way, attacks are less likely to be detected.

Panda Security country manager Jeremy Matthews said users should leverage a number of different tools to create and effective, holistic IT security plan.

"[U]sers must ensure that they are well protected against zero-day threats and malware that takes advantage of unknown and unpatched vulnerabilities," Matthews told ITWeb.

2014 malware: New practices for continuing threats
Some of the malware security risks highlighted in the report are still threatening users into this year as well. For example, the firm noted the rise of ransomware last year, a malware strain that leverages encryption technology to lock individuals out of their devices unless they pay a ransom amount for the decryption key.

Currently, there are several ransomware samples circulating in the wild. However, one strain, known as the Police Virus, recently resurged in Mexico. According to the Associated Press, police in Mexico City recently sent out an alert warning users of this ransomeware strain. The notification stated that systems used to view sexually explicit content are typically targeted, and individuals will see a message posing as a bulletin from a legitimate police agency. Mexican police advised users not to pay the fines demanded by the cybercriminals.

The threat of mobile malware has also continued into this year. Know Your Mobile contributor Tom Brewster noted that malware creators are leveraging new practices to infect smartphones and other mobile devices, particularly those running on the Android OS. Currently, cyberthieves are modifying application icons to redirect traffic to phishing pages. To prevent further infections of this kind, Google has established a security patch for the vulnerability and is encouraging smartphone manufacturers to issue the update and keep users safe.

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