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1While New Malware Declines Overall, macOS Malware Spikes
A common theme in security reports is that month after month, there are more new threats and attacks. But that was not the case with McAfee Labs’ latest threat report, which was released on April 6. The report, which provides visibility into security trends during the fourth quarter of 2016, found that while the total volume of various forms of malware is always growing incrementally, new forms of mobile malware, ransomware and even spam web addresses declined during the fourth quarter in comparison to the third quarter. Of note, however, is while some forms of malware declined, macOS malware spiked dramatically during the quarter as various forms of bundled adware attacks began to target Apple’s desktop operating system.
2Volume of New Malware Declines
3New Mobile Malware Drops in 4Q16
4Ransomware Samples Decrease
5Spam Slides
6macOS Malware Grows
7Public Sector Is the Top Target
8Botnets Flock to Germany
Botnet control servers can be hosted anywhere in the world to manage their fleet of infected hosts. According to McAfee Labs, 38 percent of botnet control servers observed in the fourth quarter were hosted in Germany, while 26 percent were hosted in the United States.