Nearly 2,000,000 users were attacked by password stealing malware in 2021

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January 28, was the International Day for the Protection of Personal Data, which has been celebrated annually for over ten years. By this date, Kaspersky Lab has analyzed some of the most pressing cyber threats that put users' personal information at risk.

According to company statistics, in 2021, the number of users attacked by password stealing programs increased significantly in the world - by 72%. In total, the company's products repelled such attacks on the devices of almost 2,000,000 users. Password stealing programs can extract information directly from browsers. This can include logins and passwords for various accounts, saved payment card information and the content of auto-complete forms.

In addition, 2021 saw a significant increase in the number of phishing attacks, during which cybercriminals tend to try to get hold of users' personal and payment information. During this period, Kaspersky Lab solutions prevented, on average, 38,000,000 attempts to navigate users to fraudulent sites every month. Phishers keep a close eye on the news agenda and take advantage of the general public's interest in various major events and celebrities by inventing official-looking baits and tricking people into clicking on a malicious link or leaving personal information.

“The amount of data generated by users is constantly growing, as is its value for attackers who, in particular, sell someone else's personal information on closed forums. Various methods are used to gain access to assets, including programs for stealing passwords and phishing. If you find that your data from any service has leaked to the network, you should immediately change the password to log into your account. There are also basic rules, the observance of which helps to reduce the risks from possible leaks and malicious use of data, ”comments Tatyana Sidorina, senior content analyst at Kaspersky Lab.