I knew it was getting bad out there, so when NordVPN emailed me about their latest online threat stats, I was expecting big figures.
I wasn’t expecting a full-on “Buy NordVPN!” hustle, but I’m not surprised.
I’ll save you a click and reveal my key takeaways;
- Malware Surge: A significant increase in malware attacks was observed, rising by 55.38%, with activity levels reaching their zenith in March.
- Dominant File Type: Executable files (.exe) continue to be the most common carrier for malware, associated with 194,433 specific threats identified.
- Geographic Hotspot: The United States reported the highest number of threat incidents worldwide, tallying 691 million.
- Common Impersonations: Scammers frequently target users by impersonating major tech brands such as Google, Facebook, Yahoo!, Telegram, and Microsoft.
- High-Risk Websites: Platforms offering video hosting, file sharing/storage, and entertainment content are identified as common sources of risky or malicious links.
According to NordVPN, their tool blocked an average of 4.9 billion ads, trackers, and malware threats each month, representing a 13.9% rise quarter-over-quarter. Within this activity, over 108,000 malware files were intercepted, with Google impersonation scams being the most prevalent threat, surpassing the combined frequency of the next nine most imitated brands.
Another area I’m behind the curve on is the tech NordVPN is currently using. This “adverigraphic” highlights “Threat Protection Pro” which is integrated into both the VPN and Saily. I wondered, “What on Earth is Saily?”
The answer: it’s NordVPN’s eSim for travel. My mobile provider, GiffGaff, keeps asking me questions about SIM cards. My response is always the same; they feel old tech. I should be able to update my SIM without swapping physical bits and pieces around. That’s what the eSim does.
Just as VPNs rather took the fight to ISPs, offering services that the providers should have, but didn’t, I suspect the same will happen in eSim. Ironically, people routing their entire mobile phone through some third-party provider for their eSim feels like a security nightmare waiting to happen.
Via NordVPN.
