RIYADH — Trend Micro Incorporated, a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, Thursday released its Midyear Security Roundup for H1 2021: Attacks from All Angles. The report shares insights on the evolved threat landscape from the first half of the year and provides strategic guidance for leaders to protect their organizations in the digital economy.

The report states that globally Trend Micro solutions blocked 40.9 billion email threats, malicious files and malicious URLs for customers in H1 2021, with a 47% year-on-year increase. Ransomware remained the standout threat in the first half of the year as cybercriminals continued to target big-name victims.

They used Advanced Persistent Threat tools and techniques to steal and encrypt victims’ data. The banking industry was disproportionately affected, experiencing a 1,318% year-on-year increase in ransomware attacks in the first half of 2021.

In Saudi Arabia, Trend Micro solutions detected and blocked over 30 million (30,845,899) email threats, prevented over 7 million (7,728,049) malicious URL victim attacks, and over 14,000 (14,009) URL hosts. In addition, over 2 million (2,715,948) malware attacks were identified and stopped, while over 1,000 (1,369) online related banking malware threats were blocked.

The report also shows that home networks in Saudi Arabia were a major attraction for cybercriminals looking to pivot to corporate systems, devices, and networks. Across the Kingdom, Trend Micro’s Smart Home Network (SHN) solutions blocked nearly 3 million (2,91,108) SHN inbound and outbound attacks combined, preventing over 6 million (6,515,895) such SHN events for hackers to target or control home devices from executing malware, obtaining sensitive information, intercepting communications, or launching external attacks.

“The evolved threat landscape has revealed a new set of challenges as we are presented with modern ransomware and malware that continuously plague systems in the Kingdom,” said Rasheed Al Odah, country manager, Saudi Arabia for Trend Micro.

“The Midyear Roundup provides us with the insight into our progress in protection and urges organizations in Saudi Arabia to deploy robust solutions that are capable of delivering multilayered security and comprehensive view of risks to their systems. Detection, Investigation, and Response across multiple platforms will serve as a strong cybersecurity shield against the risk threats to the future.”

The report’s overall findings highlight the effectiveness of — an increasing need for — a holistic and scalable cybersecurity solution at the enterprise level. Saudi Arabia is fore fronting this movement against the threat landscape. The kingdom was recently ranked No. 2 by the Global Cybersecurity Index for its commitment to cybersecurity.

This dedication has led Trend Micro to launch its MENA headquarters in Riyadh, in its efforts to become a trusted partner of the Kingdom to enhance its security posture. — SG