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Education Sector a Top Target for Mobile Malware Attacks

Mobile and IoT/OT cyber threats continue to grow in number and complexity, becoming more targeted and sophisticated, according to a new report from Zscaler. Across sectors, the cybersecurity company's annual ThreatLabz report documented 29% and 111% growth in mobile backing malware and mobile spyware attacks, respectively, as well as 45% year-over-year growth in blocked IoT malware transactions. The report is based on data from the Zscaler Security Cloud between June 2023 and May 2024, comprising more than 20 billion threat-related mobile transactions and associated cyberthreats, the company said.

The most frequent targets of mobile malware, the report found, were the technology (18%), education (18%) and manufacturing (14%) sectors. In fact, education saw a 136% increase in blocked mobile malware transactions compared to the previous year, an area where most other sectors experienced a general decline.

As for attacks on IoT devices, routers were by far the most targeted device type, drawing 66% of attacks. Education organizations were the victims of just 2% of overall IoT malware attacks, compared to 37% in manufacturing and 14% in the transportation sector, according to the report.  

The report also offered a number of predictions for the coming year:

  • IoT and OT devices will remain primary threat vectors.
  • Manufacturing will remain a top target for IoT attacks, including ransomware.
  • AI will increasingly be used to create believable phishing campaigns targeting mobile users.
  • Zero trust device segmentation will become a top security priority for IoT and OT systems, starting with critical infrastructure.
  • AI will play a critical role for IoT and OT defenders.
  • Private 5G ecosystems with zero trust will become a key strategy for IoT and OT connectivity.
  • The trend of security platform consolidation will extend to IoT and OT environments.

The full report is available on the Zscaler site (registration required).

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

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