{"id":91811,"date":"2018-10-05T11:09:14","date_gmt":"2018-10-05T18:09:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/securingtomorrow.mcafee.com\/?p=91811"},"modified":"2025-08-19T08:19:51","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T15:19:51","slug":"consumer-trends-mcafee-labs-threats-report-sept-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/mobile-security\/consumer-trends-mcafee-labs-threats-report-sept-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Digital Assistants, Cryptocurrency, Mobile Malware: \u2018McAfee Labs Threats Report\u2019 Trends"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every three months, our team crafts the McAfee Labs Threats Report. The quarterly report ranges in topic and severity\u00a0but always touches on the most important and impactful threats afflicting consumers and companies alike. This year, the McAfee Labs team analyzed an average of 1,800,000 URLs, 800,000 files and 200,000 high-risk files to produce the McAfee Labs Threats Report: September 2018<\/a><\/em>, which features digital assistants, cryptocurrencies, and cybercriminal gangs up to no good. Overall, it\u2019s been an eventful quarter.<\/p>\n

So, what are the key takeaways for you? Notably, our team has continued to track a downward trend in new malware attacks for the second successive quarter. Good news on the surface, but that trend may not be indicative of much; as we also saw a spike in new malware in Q4 2017. We\u2019ll continue to watch this into next year. Significantly, we found that a good portion of net new malware is designed for mobile, which increased 27 percent over the previous quarter. In addition, here\u2019s a look at the other trending stories we uncovered.<\/p>\n

Digital Assistants<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Digital assistants are advanced programs that we can converse with to research, act on our behalf and overall help make our digital lives more comfortable. Siri, Bixby and Google Assistant are few. But one digital assistant, Microsoft\u2019s Cortana, is a little too helpful. The good news, Microsoft quickly rolled out a fix<\/a> for this vulnerability to protect your Windows 10 computer. Be sure your software is up to date.<\/p>\n

Cryptocurrency<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The second story involves cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies are digital tokens generated by a computer after solving complex mathematical functions. These functions are used to verify the authenticity of a ledger, or blockchain. Blockchains, by their nature, are relatively secure. But an account that is connected to a blockchain \u2014 usually, in this case, associated with a cryptocurrency \u2014 is not. And that\u2019s where cybercriminals are focusing their efforts, with coin miner malware up 86% in Q2 2018.<\/p>\n

Our report found cybercriminals are chasing after access to cryptocurrencies and they\u2019re doing so using familiar tactics. For example, phishing attacks \u2014 where cybercriminals pose as someone else online \u2014 are popular tools to take over a cryptocurrency-related account. Malicious programs are also deployed to collect passwords and other information related to an account before stealing virtual currency. You can read more about blockchain and cryptocurrency vulnerabilities here.<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Malicious Apps<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Finally, the McAfee Mobile Research team found a collection of malicious applications facilitating a scam in the Google Play store. The apps in question siphon money from unwary users through billing-fraud. Billing-fraud collects money from victims for \u201cusing\u201d a \u201cpremium\u201d service, such as sending texts to a particular number.<\/p>\n

In this case, the cybercriminal ring known as the AsiaHitGroup Gang<\/a> attempted to charge at least 20,000 victims for downloading fake or copied versions of popular applications. To increase its potential, AsiaHitGroup Gang is using geolocation to target vulnerable populations.<\/p>\n

So, what can you do to stay safe in the face of these threats? Here are three quick tips:<\/p>\n