14 million malware attacks in 6 months

Oman has been the target of an estimated 14 million malware attacks over the past six months, according to experts from global cyber-security firm Kaspersky.

Malware is widespread across the Middle East, accounting for 161 million of attacks and growing by 17 per cent when compared to the last year figure – 138 million, research from the firm has indicated. The growth in each country in the region varies. Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain and Egypt have seen a large spike in malware attacks, increasing by 67 per cent, 64 per cent, 45 per cent and 32 per cent, respectively. Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) show lower increases of 16 per cent and 7 per cent - however increases none the less.

“Even though the scourge of malware has always been of concern, the past 12-months have highlighted how hackers are refocusing their efforts to compromise consumer and corporate systems and gain access to critical data and information,” said Maher Yamout, Senior Security Researcher for Middle East, Turkey and Africa at Kaspersky;. “Given the growth in digital transformation since last year and considering the increase in remote working resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, countries of the Middle East have become an attractive target for those looking to exploit a lack of user education or cybersecurity understanding.”

With so many people working remotely and accessing corporate networks from their personal devices, companies must contend with a rapidly expanding attack surface. These devices might not have an adequate level of protection meaning that once they are compromised and an employee logs into the network, hackers can potentially get access to sensitive data and cripple the organisation.