Adobe Flash Vulnerabilities, Ransomware on the Rise

by Sean Michael Kerner

Malware that locks a user’s system until a fee, or “ransom,” is paid is known as ransomware, and it’s a growing trend. In the first quarter of 2015, McAfee Labs detected more new ransomware samples than ever before.

One of the primary drivers for the spike in new ransomware samples in the first quarter is the emergence of the Curve-Tor-Bitcoin Locker (CTB-Locker) ransomware family.

While ransomware remains a global problem, McAfee Labs found that half of CTB-Locker victims were located in North America.

McAfee Labs reported a 317 percent quarterly increase in new malicious Flash file samples, which was driven in part by a rise in publicly disclosed Flash vulnerabilities.

There were 42 new Flash Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) disclosed in the first quarter of 2015, a 50 percent increase over the fourth quarter of 2014.

All of the new Flash issues have led to a corresponding increase in the use of Flash vulnerabilities inside of exploit kits.

In the first quarter of 2015, there was also a marked increase in new mobile malware samples detected by McAfee Labs. Forty-nine percent more mobile malware was detected in the first quarter of 2015 than in the previous quarter.

While new ransomware, Flash and mobile malware volumes were up, McAfee Labs reported a marginal decline in the overall new malware volume detected in the first quarter of 2015. McAfee noted that there had been a fourth-quarter 2014 spike in the SoftPulse adware, which returned to normal levels in the first quarter.