E-Business
Check Point Identifies Most Wanted Malware in May 2022
Check Point Research (CPR), the Threat Intelligence arm of Check Point® Software Technologies Ltd. a provider of cyber security solutions globally, has published its latest Global Threat Index for May 2022. Researchers report that Emotet, an advanced, self-propagating and modular Trojan, is still the most prevalent as a result of multiple widespread campaigns.
This month, Snake Keylogger has jumped into eighth place after a long absence from the index. Snake’s main functionality is to record users keystrokes and transmit collected data to threat actors.
Snake Keylogger is usually spread through emails that include docx or xlsx attachments with malicious macros, however this month researchers reported that SnakeKey Logger has been spread via PDF files.
This could be due in part to Microsoft blocking by default internet macros in Office, meaning cybercriminals have had to become more creative, exploring new file types such as PDFs. This rare way to spread malware is proving to be quite effective as some people perceive PDFs to be inherently safer than other file types.
Emotet, is impacting 8% of organizations worldwide, a slight increase from last month. This malware is an agile malware proving profitable due to its ability to remain undetected. Its persistence also makes it difficult to be removed once a device has been infected, making it the perfect tool in a cybercriminal’s arsenal. Originally a banking trojan, it is often distributed through phishing emails and has the ability to offer other malwares, enhancing its capacity to cause widespread damage.
“As evident with the recent Snake Keylogger campaigns, everything you do online puts you at risk of a cyberattack, and opening a PDF document is no exception,” said Maya Horowitz, VP Research at Check Point Software. “Viruses and malicious executable code can lurk in multimedia content and links, with the malware attack, in this case Snake Keylogger, ready to strike once a user opens the PDF.
“Therefore, just as you would question the legitimacy of a docx or xlsx email attachment, you must practice the same caution with PDFs too. In today’s landscape it has never been more important for organizations to have a robust email security solution that quarantines and inspects attachments, preventing any malicious files from entering the network in the first place.”
CPR also revealed that “Web Servers Malicious URL Directory Traversal” is the most commonly exploited vulnerability, impacting 46% of organizations worldwide, closely followed by “Apache Log4j Remote Code Execution” which has a global impact of 46%.
“Web Server Exposed Git Repository Information Disclosure” is in third place with a global impact of 45%. The Education & Research sector continues to be the most targeted industry by cybercriminals globally.
Top Malware Families
*The arrows relate to the change in rank compared to the previous month.
This month, Emotet is still the most popular malware with a global impact of 8%, followed by Formbook with an impact of 2% and AgentTesla impacting 2% of organizations worldwide.
This month in Nigeria, Ramnit is the most popular malware impacting 11.39% of organizations in the country, followed by Phorpiex at 7.59% and Formbook at 5.06%.
- ↔ Ramnit – Ramnit is a modular banking Trojan first discovered in 2010. Ramnit steals web session information, giving its operators the ability to steal account credentials for all services used by the victim, including bank accounts, and corporate and social networks accounts. The Trojan uses both hardcoded domains as well as domains generated by a DGA (Domain Generation Algorithm) to contact the C&C server and download additional modules.
- ↔ Phorpiex – Phorpiex is a botnet (aka Trik) that has been active since 2010 and at its peak controlled more than a million infected hosts. It is known for distributing other malware families via spam campaigns as well as fueling large-scale spam and sextortion campaigns.
- ↔ Formbook – FormBook is an Infostealer targeting the Windows OS and was first detected in 2016. It is marketed as Malware as a Service (MaaS) in underground hacking forums for its strong evasion techniques and relatively low price. FormBook harvests credentials from various web browsers, collects screenshots, monitors and logs keystrokes, and can download and execute files according to orders from its C&C.
The complete list of the top ten malware families in May can be found on the Check Point blog.
Top Attacked Industries Globally
In Africa, this month Communications is the most attacked industry, followed by Government/Military and Retail/Wholesale
- Communications
- Government & Military
- Retail/Wholesale
Top Exploited Vulnerabilities
This month, “Web Servers Malicious URL Directory Traversal” is the most commonly exploited vulnerability, impacting 46% of organizations worldwide, closely followed by “Apache Log4j Remote Code Execution” which has a global impact of 46%. “Web Server Exposed Git Repository Information Disclosure” is in third place with a global impact of 45%.
- ↑ Web Servers Malicious URL Directory Traversal (CVE-2010-4598, CVE-2011-2474, CVE-2014-0130, CVE-2014-0780, CVE-2015-0666, CVE-2015-4068, CVE-2015-7254, CVE-2016-4523, CVE-2016-8530, CVE-2017-11512, CVE-2018-3948, CVE-2018-3949, CVE-2019-18952, CVE-2020-5410, CVE-2020-8260)- There exists a directory traversal vulnerability on different web servers.
The vulnerability is due to an input validation error in a web server that does not properly sanitize the URI for the directory traversal patterns. Successful exploitation allows unauthenticated remote attackers to disclose or access arbitrary files on the vulnerable server.
- ↔ Apache Log4j Remote Code Execution (CVE-2021-44228)- A remote code execution vulnerability exists in Apache Log4j. Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the affected system.
3.↓ Web Server Exposed Git Repository Information Disclosure- An information disclosure vulnerability has been reported in Git Repository. Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow an unintentional disclosure of account information.
Top Mobile Malwares
This month AlienBot is the most prevalent Mobile malware, followed by FluBot and xHelper.
- AlienBot – AlienBot malware family is a Malware-as-a-Service (MaaS) for Android devices that allows a remote attacker, as a first step, to inject malicious code into legitimate financial applications. The attacker obtains access to victims’ accounts, and eventually completely controls their device.
- FluBot – FluBot is an Android malware distributed via phishing SMS messages (Smishing), most often impersonating logistics delivery brands. Once the user clicks the link inside the message, they are redirected to the download of a fake application containing FluBot. Once installed the malware has various capabilities to harvest credentials and support the Smishing operation itself, including uploading of the contacts list as well as sending SMS messages to other phone numbers.
- xHelper – A malicious application seen in the wild since March 2019, used for downloading other malicious apps and display advertisements. The application is capable of hiding itself from the user and reinstalling itself in the case that it was uninstalled.
Check Point’s Global Threat Impact Index and its ThreatCloud Map is powered by Check Point’s ThreatCloud intelligence. ThreatCloud provides real-time threat intelligence derived from hundreds of millions of sensors worldwide, over networks, endpoints and mobiles.
The intelligence is enriched with AI-based engines and exclusive research data from Check Point Research, The Intelligence & Research Arm of Check Point Software Technologies.
E-Business
Firm Discovered a New Corporate Phishing Technique using a Popular AI Web Development Platform
Kaspersky has discovered that attackers have begun exploiting another legitimate service for malicious purposes – this time it is Tencent EdgeOne Pages, a platform for creating and hosting web applications.
Attackers are misusing its capabilities to generate phishing emails targeting corporate users. Previously Kaspersky has described similar attacks leveraging Google services and web applications generated by Bubble, an AI-powered app builder, to hunt for corporate credentials.
Employees across multiple industries including the industrial sector, sales, and government are among the targets. The goal of the attack is to steal login credentials for corporate resources. Over the past 30 days, the company’s experts have detected more than 8,000 phishing emails using this tactic, including messages in English, Korean, and Russian.
The Tencent EdgeOne Pages service is positioned as a platform for quickly creating and deploying web applications using AI. Scammers misuse it to generate and publish phishing pages in minutes with virtually no web development skills.
Attackers host phishing pages on EdgeOne’s legitimate cloud infrastructure and use trusted domains. As a result, such sites appear to be established and secure to many protective solutions, complicating the detection of such attacks.
How the attack begins
The user receives an email from the alleged “corporate email support team”. The message states that the account login credentials will expire in 48 hours, and that failure to update them may result in problems receiving or sending emails.
To avoid restrictions, the user is prompted to click a link and enter relevant information. Phishing emails are not limited to this narrative, and could deliver any corporate message, such as a message from the HR department or a notification of a received document that should be downloaded.
Clicking the link in the email opens a page with a form for entering the victim’s name, email address, and password. It is a simple design, with virtually no additional elements.
After the user enters their login and password, the data is transferred to a server controlled by the attackers.
“We are seeing a continuation of the trend in which attackers use AI and no-code platforms as part of their phishing infrastructure. We’ve previously observed a similar scheme using the Bubble platform, and here we have yet another example.
“While the communication used in these phishing attacks is typical and has been used before multiple times, the attack technique itself significantly lowers the barrier to entry for attackers and accelerates the creation of phishing resources.
“Previously this required at least basic web development skills, but now an infrastructure for fraudulent emails can be created in minutes,” comments Roman Dedenok, Anti-Spam Expert at Kaspersky.
E-Business
Kaspersky Report Shows Early 2026 Witnessed an Increase in Cyberattacks on the Manufacturing Sector
According to a new Kaspersky ICS CERT report, in Q1 2026 the percentage of industrial control systems (ICS) on which malicious objects were blocked reached 19.6% globally. Kaspersky security solutions blocked malware from 10,052 different malware families of various categories on industrial automation systems.
Regionally, the share of ICS computers that were attacked ranged from 27.4% in Africa to 9.1% in Northern Europe. Compared to the previous quarter, attacks on the manufacturing sector in Q1 increased in multiple regions, including in Europe and Asia.
Regional split
In terms of overall numbers across all industry sectors, five regions saw an increase in the share of attacked ICS computers in Q1 2026 compared to the previous quarter. These were Southern Europe, Russia, Northern Europe, Canada and Africa.
Industries
In Q1, biometric systems traditionally placed first in terms of the share of ICS computers on which malicious objects were blocked, at 26.4%. These systems commonly have Internet access, are used for email, and, in many cases, have minimal cybersecurity controls within the organisations that use these systems.
Regionally, Southern Europe leads the ranking based on the percentage figures for biometric systems, at 35.15%. Africa follows at 29.58%, and Central Asia comes in third at 28.53%.
In the manufacturing industry, Southeast Asia ranks first among regions in terms of the percentage of ICS computers attacked (23.21%), followed by Africa (21.36%) and South Asia (20.13%).
In 2025, Kaspersky and VDC Research estimated that in just the first three quarters of 2025 cyberattacks on manufacturing organisations via ransomware could have generated over $18 billion globally in losses. Actual business losses could have been even higher when factoring in supply-chain disruptions, reputational damage, and recovery expenses.
“Legacy operational technology systems remain deeply embedded in manufacturing environments, which makes them vulnerable. Supply chain complexity and branching of the trusted partner network expands the attack surface beyond the network perimeter.
Attackers are realising that targeting OT assets of an industrial enterprise is not rocket science, which is why factory shutdowns bring massive financial losses,” commented Evgeny Goncharov, Head of Kaspersky ICS CERT.
Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has launched the Meta-Supported Initiatives for Data Protection (M-SIDP), a strategic programme aimed at strengthening data privacy awareness, regulatory compliance and institutional capacity across Nigeria’s digital ecosystem.
The initiative follows the conclusion of regulatory proceedings involving Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, over concerns relating to the processing of personal data belonging to Nigerian users. The matter was resolved in 2025 through a court-approved settlement.
Under the agreement, Meta committed to supporting a two-year programme of public-facing data protection measures designed to advance the objectives of the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDP Act) 2023, the General Application and Implementation Directive (GAID), and the NDPC Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP) 2023–2027.
Announcing the initiative, the Commission said the programme would strengthen safeguards for data subjects while promoting responsible data processing practices among organisations operating in Nigeria.
According to a statement signed by Itunu Dosekun, head of the NDPC Media Unit, the programme will focus on governance, research and development, safety and sustainability mechanisms for technology ecosystems, capacity building for Data Protection Officers (DPOs) and Data Protection Compliance Organisations (DPCOs), as well as public awareness campaigns targeted at vulnerable groups.
The Commission stated, “As part of the settlement, Meta committed to supporting a two-year programme of public-facing data protection measures that aligns with the objectives of the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023 (NDP Act), the NDP Act General Application and Implementation Directive (GAID) and the NDPC Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP) 2023–2027.”
The NDPC stressed that the settlement does not limit its regulatory authority.
“Nothing in this settlement limits the Commission’s independent statutory powers as we continue to exercise our regulatory mandate in relation to data processing activities in Nigeria, in accordance with the NDP Act and other applicable laws,” it stated.
The development comes amid rising global scrutiny of technology companies over data privacy practices, with regulators in regions including the European Union and the United States tightening enforcement against breaches and non-compliance.
Nigeria has also intensified efforts to strengthen its privacy framework following the enactment of the Nigeria Data Protection Act in 2023, which established the NDPC as an independent regulator empowered to monitor compliance, investigate violations and impose sanctions.
Industry experts warn that increasing digital adoption across banking, telecommunications, e-commerce, healthcare and public services has heightened risks of identity theft, cybercrime and unauthorised data sharing.
The NDPC has in recent years stepped up enforcement actions against organisations that violate data protection rules, while also expanding accreditation for Data Protection Compliance Organisations and training for privacy professionals.
The Meta-supported initiative is expected to address gaps in public awareness and technical capacity, while also supporting research and policy development on emerging issues such as artificial intelligence, cross-border data transfers and platform governance.
The Commission said it would provide periodic updates on the implementation of the programme and called on stakeholders to support efforts to build a secure, transparent and accountable privacy ecosystem in Nigeria.
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