Press Release

Cylance® 2017 Threat Report Provides Insight into Attacks Prevented with Artificial Intelligence

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Cylance PR Team
Cylance Inc.
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Report details millions of attacks thwarted using predictive machine learning

IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, May 1, 2018 - Cylance Inc., the company that revolutionized endpoint security with true AI powered threat prevention, today released the Cylance 2017 Threat Report. The report provides a real-world glimpse into the major cyberthreats that affected Cylance’s diverse customer base in 2017, industry trends and analysis, and data from thousands of government entities and organizations of all sizes across 160 countries that have adopted a prevention-first approach to security.

Among the highlights:

Destructive attacks continue to rise with ransomware families leading the pack by growing three-fold during the year and affecting the healthcare industry the most
50% to 70% of 2017’s attacks exploited known vulnerabilities reported more than nine months prior to the attack
The most common infection vectors remained email phishing and drive-by downloads
The food/beverage/restaurant industry suffered the greatest volume of attacks

The report also explores the exponential growth of malware variants and the ease with which they can be deployed. Malware variants are a challenge for legacy security solutions that rely on signatures to detect threats given their short life span. Conversely, more than 50% of the threats Cylance prevented were not seen in any other environment, further supporting the need for organizations to consider advanced malware detection and prevention technologies.

“Cybercriminals are adept at modifying their malware and methods to stay ahead of traditional protections that organizations deploy, as seen by the rise in infections and sophistication of attacks in 2017,” said Rahul Kashyap, worldwide chief technology officer at Cylance. “It’s critical that companies are aware of the threats, keep up-to-date with patches, and use defenses that protect against constantly evolving malware.”

The Cylance Threat Report details the impact of malware on specific industries and dives into specifics on the top 10 malware families: WannaCry, Upatre, Cerber, Emotet, Locky, Petya, Ramnit, Fareit, PolyRansom and Terdot/Zloader. The report also discusses other threat trends, including emerging supply chain attacks, fast-rising ransomware attacks and the top industries affected by them, the growth of crypto-miners, wallet-swiping trojans, and firmware and hardware vulnerabilities.

“The attacks and threats of 2017 are a reminder of the ingenuity and destructive capabilities of threat actors,” said Aditya Kapoor, head of security research at Cylance. “All indicators point to a perfect storm with the explosion in the number and types of endpoints requiring protection, the rise in the diversity of attack types, and the ease with which they can be accessed and weaponized.”

To learn more, download a copy of the Cylance Annual Threat Report.

About Cylance® Inc.

Cylance is the first company to apply artificial intelligence, algorithmic science, and machine learning to cybersecurity to prevent the most advanced security threats in the world. Built on a breakthrough predictive analysis process, the Cylance AI Platform serves as a foundation for innovative, AI driven security products to address critical attack vectors. The company’s flagship product, CylancePROTECT, quickly and accurately identifies what is benign and what is a threat, and prevents malicious code from ever executing on a targeted system. By coupling advanced machine learning and artificial intelligence with a unique understanding of an attacker’s mentality, Cylance provides technology and services that are truly predictive and preventive against the most advanced threats. For more information visit: www.cylance.com

Cylance and CylancePROTECT are registered trademarks or trademarks owned by Cylance Inc. in the United States and other jurisdictions and may not be used without prior written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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