Account stealing viruses increase by 40%

On January 18, Bkav Technology Group announced the results of the "Cybersecurity Assessment for Individual Users" conducted by Bkav in December 2023. Accordingly, the damage caused by computer viruses to Vietnamese users was VND 17.3 trillion (equivalent to USD 716 million). This figure decreased compared to previous years.

According to Bkav, the domestic cyber security situation still has many hot issues when data encryption virus attacks continue to increase, targeting key servers; computers without Internet connection can also be attacked by APT (Advanced Persistent Threats) espionage; online financial fraud shows no signs of cooling down.

Summary of computer virus situation in Vietnam in 2023

Financial fraud online

Bkav's cybersecurity survey report recorded that the rate of users receiving fraudulent messages and calls continues to increase. If in 2022, this number was 69.6%, in 2023 it was 73%.

In financial fraud cases, the bad guys ask users to transfer money via bank accounts.

Mr. Nguyen Van Cuong, Director of Cyber ​​Security at Bkav, said: "The reason is that the buying and selling and exchanging of bank accounts is taking place. too easy. Many people simply think that selling accounts they do not use will not be a problem. But in reality, bad guys have taken advantage of these bank accounts to conduct illegal transactions, hide the origin, making it difficult for the investigation agency."

Account stealing virus on the rise

In 2023, Bkav's virus monitoring and warning system recorded up to 745,000 computers infected with account-stealing viruses (Facebook, banks), an increase of 40% compared to 2022. The most widespread strains include RedLineStealer, ArkeiStealer, Fabookie... all of which are in the top 20 most contagious virus strains in Vietnam.

If last year, these viruses were still "in their infancy", only stealing account data, passwords, cookies... then this year, they have been "upgraded". to specifically target Facebook Business accounts, querying for additional information about payment methods, balances...

Successfully exploited, hackers use the victim's account to silently run ads instead of immediately taking over the account to earn more profit and improve the ranking (SEO) of websites spreading malware.

APT spy attack

In 2023, Bkav discovered many APT attack campaigns by hacker groups Mustang Panda, APT31... using spyware (PlugX, CobaltStrike, njRAT...) to silently steal data files stored on computers without internet access. Research shows that spyware targets files with .doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, .ppt, .pptx, .pdf... formats on computers and then hides them on USB, waiting for the opportunity to spread to other computers with internet access. At that time, they will send all stolen data to the hacker's server.

The number of APT espionage attacks in Vietnam in 2023 increased by 55% compared to 2022, targeting more than 280,000 computers.

Server under attack

In 2023, Bkav's virus monitoring and warning system recorded more than 19,000 servers being attacked with ransomware from 130,000 malicious IP addresses worldwide, an increase of 35% compared to 2022. Typical virus strains participating in these attacks include TOP/DJVU, FARGO, LockBit...

According to experts from Bkav AntiMalware Research Center: "Attacks on servers are very sophisticated, from many different paths, such as server vulnerabilities, service vulnerabilities... Administrators need to regularly back up data, assess the security of services before opening the internet, and install strong enough anti-virus software to be protected in real time."

APT attacks are also expected to increase in 2024 as critical data of organizations is always the target of cybercriminals around the world. These attacks are not only more complex but also the level of threat is particularly serious, aiming to steal and encrypt critical data. This requires increased security defenses for critical systems.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/virus-danh-cap-tai-khoan-tang-40-196240118163754202.htm