2018 roundup report reveals substantial growth in phishing, cryptocurrency mining and BEC

HONGKONG, CHINA - Media OutReach - February28, 2019 - TrendMicro Incorporated(TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704), a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, todayreleased its 2018 Security Roundup Report, which depicts a threat landscapethat has evolved heavily through both approach and tactics. One shift inattacks that businesses should be aware of is the rapid growth ofcryptocurrency mining, which increased 237 percent in the same time. Overall,attacks that capitalize on the human desire to respond to urgent requests fromauthority are on the rise, such as Business Email Compromise (BEC) andphishing, with phishing URL detections having increased an incredible 269percent compared to 2017.

"The changes across the threatlandscape in 2018 reflect a change in cybercriminal's mindset," said Tony Lee, Headof Consulting of TrendMicro Hong Kong and Macau. "Today's most prevalent attacks are targeted andwell planned, as opposed to one-size-fits-all attacks of the past. Knowing thispattern, we're developing products that can outsmart these attack methods andallow us to be one step ahead of the bad guys."

The number of BEC attacks in 2018increased by 28 percent. While these attacks are less frequent than phishingattacks, they are more sophisticated and take more careful planning forcybercriminals and they yield an average of $132,000 per attack. As these attackscontain no malware and go undetected bytraditional security measures, companies need to increase their protectionagainst these attacks with smart solutions that analyze the email writing styleof key executives in order to identify whether the email may be fraudulent.Trend Micro's WritingStyle DNA doesexactly that and effectively helps detect Business Email Compromise (BEC)attacks.

Another area of change across thethreat landscape in 2018 was seen in zero-day vulnerabilities. Trend Micro'sZero Day Initiative (ZDI) bought and disclosed more vulnerabilities in 2018than ever before, including 224 percent more Industrial Control System bugs.This is particularly significant for organizations that struggle to implementpatches across their systems. While zero-day exploits are less and less common,known vulnerabilities were used to execute the largest attacks in 2018. Thesetactics rely on vulnerabilities that have had patches available for months,even years, yet remain exposed in corporate networks.

Another strong indicator of how thethreat landscape is shifting can be seen in the types of threats that decline.Ransomware detections decreased by 91 percent compared to 2017, along with a 32percent decrease in new ransomware families. This reinforces the shift inattack tactics, as ransomware does not require extensive planning, technicalskills or ingenuity due to the large number of resources available formalicious hackers in the cybercriminal underground.

Trend Micro's ongoing research andmost advanced threat intelligence influences future product enhancements toensure customers remain a step ahead of malicious actors.

To find outmore on the key developments in the 2018 threat landscape, please visit: https://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/us/security/research-and-analysis/threat-reports/roundup/unraveling-the-tangle-of-old-and-new-threats.

About Trend Micro

Trend Micro Incorporated, a global leaderin cybersecurity solutions, helps to make the world safe for exchanging digitalinformation. Our innovative solutions for consumers, businesses, andgovernments provide layered security for data centers, cloud environments,networks, and endpoints. All our products work together to seamlessly sharethreat intelligence and provide a connected threat defense with centralizedvisibility and control, enabling better, faster protection. With more than6,000 employees in over 50 countries and the world's most advanced globalthreat intelligence, Trend Micro enables organizations to secure their journeyto the cloud. Formore information, visit www.trendmicro.com.hk.