A new report out today from BlackBerry Ltd. details a significant increase in new malware used in cyberattacks in the first quarter of this year as overall attacks continue to surge.

The latest BlackBerry Global Threat Intelligence Report reveals that BlackBerry cybersecurity solutions detected and stopped 3.1 million cyberattacks in the first quarter, or 37,000 per day. Of those attacks, BlackBerry detected 630,000 malicious hashes, representing a 40% increase from the previous quarter.

The 630,000 malicious hashes mean that BlackBerry’s systems identified 630,000 unique instances of malicious files or pieces of malware in the quarter. The 40% increase indicates a significant rise in the number of unique malware samples observed and hence, an increase in the number of types of malware in the wild.

Of the attacks observed, 60% were found to be directed at critical infrastructure, including government, healthcare, financial and communications industries. Forty percent specifically targeted the financial sector.

The U.S. remains the most popular country among hackers, with 82% of all cyberattacks observed by BlackBerry targeting the country. More than half of those attacks targeting the U.S. contained unique malware that had not been previously observed. BlackBerry’s researchers also detected 7,500 unique malware samples per day targeting its customer base, or 5.2 per minute.

On the commercial enterprise threats side, 36% of threats were found to target commercial enterprises, including retail, manufacturing, automotive and professional services, up three percentage points from the previous quarter. The sector also saw a 10% increase in new malware, with social engineering often used to obtain account credentials before the malware is distributed.

Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures remain popular. The report noted that they’re being rapidly weaponized in all forms of malware, particularly ransomware and info stealers. Some 56% of the CVEs reported in the first quarter were given a severity score of seven out of a possible 10, representing a three-point increase over the previous quarter.

“These threats will continue to be underpinned by a politically charged year globally, with disinformation and deepfake campaigns continuing to be pervasive across social media,” said a spokesperson from BlackBerry. “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the continuing conflict in the Middle East, and global elections will be the dominant variables in how threat actors adapt their targets and methodologies.”

The BlackBerry Threat Intelligence and Research team is predicting that threat actors will continue to take extensive measures to carefully target their victims. The researchers note that the rise in new ransomware and infostealers indicates that private data continues to be highly sought after by threat actors, and sectors such as healthcare and financial services will continue to be top targets for attack.

Image: BlackBerry