MidyearSecurity Roundup combines expansive Trend Micro data to offer business insightson growing threats

HONG KONG, CHINA  - Media OutReach - 29 August 2018 - Trend MicroIncorporated(TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704), a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, todayreleased its Midyear Security Roundup2018, revealing that cybercriminals are moving away from attention-grabbingransomware attacks to more covert methods intended to steal money and valuablecomputing resources.

Crypto-jacking attempts are making thebiggest impact so far this year. Trend Micro recorded a 96 percent increase incryptocurrency mining detections in 1H 2018 compared to all of 2017, and a 956percent increase in detections versus 1H 2017. This indicates cybercriminalsare shifting away from the quick payout of ransomware in favor of the slower,behind-the-scenes approach of stealing computing power to mine digitalcurrency.

"The recent change in the threatlandscape mirrors what we've seen for years -- cybercriminals will constantlyshift their tools, tactics and procedures (TTPs) to improve their infectionrates," said Jon Clay, director of global threat communications for TrendMicro. "Standard spray and pray ransomware attacks and data breaches had becomethe norm, so attackers changed their tactics to be more covert, using entryvectors not previously seen or used extensively. This means once again,business leaders must evaluate their defenses to ensure sufficient protectionis in place to stop the latest and most pressing threats."

Another shift in the first half of theyear is toward unusual malware types, such as fileless, macro and small filemalware. Trend Micro recorded a 250 percent increase in detections of oneparticular small file malware, TinyPOS, compared to 2H 2017, which may be dueto the increased ability of these malware types to circumvent defenses thatemploy only one type of security protection.

Additionally, the Trend Micro Zero DayInitiative (ZDI) published more than 600 advisories in the first six months of2018. Based on this increase in advisories, the ZDI is able to predict whattypes of vulnerabilities will likely be used next in real-world attacks. Amongthe advisories this year, the ZDI purchased and disclosed twice as many SCADAvulnerabilities compared to the same time last year. IT security managersrunning these environments must stay alert to this growing threat, especiallyas actors begin to perform destructive attacks rather than mere reconnaissanceand testing.

Faced with rapidly evolving threats,organizations need to consolidate using a vendor that can provide complete,multi-layered protection against both commodity malware and emerging threats.Trend Micro's leading threat intelligence collected over 30 years of businessallows comprehensive protection, blocking more than 20 billion threats so farthis year and counting.

For a complete look at the MidyearSecurity Roundup 2018, please visit: https://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/us/security/research-and-analysis/threat-reports/roundup/unseen-threats-imminent-losses.

About Trend Micro

Trend Micro Incorporated, a global leader in cybersecurity solutions,helps to make the world safe for exchanging digital information. Our innovativesolutions for consumers, businesses, and governments provide layered securityfor data centers, cloud environments, networks, and endpoints. All our productswork together to seamlessly share threat intelligence and provide a connectedthreat defense with centralized visibility and control, enabling better, fasterprotection. With over 6,000 employees in over 50 countries and the world's mostadvanced global threat intelligence, Trend Micro secures your connected world.For more information, visit www.trendmicro.com.hk.