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Today's malware samples are capable of a range of malicious activities. Users in the current technological environment are constantly on the look out for stolen information, unapproved programs running on the system or redirected Web traffic. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to malware, making protection against black hat programs increasingly important.

What targets are high risk?
According to PCWorld, one security firm's recent threat report determined, among other statistics, the top malware targets of the past year. The report utilized data from approximately 40,000 cyberattacks and more than 22 million malware command and control communications to generate an overall picture of malware trends.

The report found that a cyberattack occurs about once every 1.5 seconds, which is a considerable increase from 2012 levels, where enterprises were attacked every three seconds. The study also noted that command and control server arrangements are on the rise. Currently, CnC infrastructures are active in 206 countries, whereas there were 184 malicious server arrangements established in 2012. The most CnC servers reside in the U.S., the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, South Korea, Germany and Russia.

Overall, the study discovered that the top countries targeted in malware attacks are the U.S., South Korea, Canada and Japan. Additionally, the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia and Israel were also among the most-attacked countries in 2013. 

Certain types of organizations were also found to be at a higher risk of cyberattack than others, including government agencies, businesses providing consulting services, technology companies and financial services firms. The study noted that telecommunications vendors, education institutions, aerospace and defense agencies, state and local governments, and chemical and energy organizations were also attacked more frequently than others last year, according to PCWorld. 

Targeted programs and operating systems
Cisco also found that the Android operating system is at a high risk of attack, with 99 percent of global mobile malware samples aimed at Android devices. The most common mobile malware strain infected Android hardware was the Andr/Qdplugin-A sample, which was responsible for 43.8 percent of identified mobile attacks.

"Android also has a large install base and is therefore an attractive target for hackers," said Terry Greer-King, Cisco director of cyber security, told V3. "It's an open platform with innumerable iterations, and hence is easier to exploit compared to a closed OS."

The study also noted that Java is the most-attacked coding language worldwide, with 91 percent of Indicators of Compromised attacks coming as a result of Java exploitation.

Protect data in transit with an SSL certificate today. 

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