(Finance) – On the occasion of the World Children’s Daythe security experts at Kaspersky have analyzed the new cyber threats that they use as ‘Esca is a brand of video games and toys that are very popular among children such as Minecraft, Roblox, LEGO, Disney and many others. From the research conducted on the basis of keywords, it emerged that the number of attack attempts increased by 35% in the first quarter of 2024, compared to the same period the previous year.
In particular, from January to March 2024 they were almost 1.3 million attack attempts detected. In the first quarter of 2024 they were detected 1,264,866 attempted attacks on mobile and desktop devices, disguised as popular topics among kids. It’s about an increase of over 30% compared to the first quarter of 2023, when 936,840 attempts were recorded. According to Kaspersky data, desktop threats significantly exceed the number of attacks detected during the reporting period: 98.7% versus 1.3% for mobile threats.
According to Kaspersky experts’ research, the brands most exploited by cybercriminals include i best-known children’s video games: Minecraft, Roblox and Brawl Stars. Furthermore, the attackers also tried to exploit product names, such as LEGO, some cartoon series, including Paw Patrol and Bluey, and the entertainment giant Disney, whose name could be used to search for cartoons, films and popular TV series, as well as games or related products. Over 1.2 million infections come from downloaders released in Q1 2024. While this type of software is not malicious itself, downloaders are often used to load other potentially unwanted applications onto devices.
THE trojans, Malicious programs that allow cybercriminals to collect credit card data and login credentials, as well as modify data or compromise computer performance, ranked second among the most popular threats masquerading as children’s games.
In the first quarter of 2024, there were 27,576 attempts to install Trojans on users’ devices, while adware – a type of software that displays annoying unwanted pop-up advertisements on the screen – amounted to 27,570. The increase in detected attacks was also accompanied by a decline in the number of unique users targeted. In particular, in the first quarter of 2024, 49,630 unique users were affected compared to 57,873 in the same period in 2023, a decrease of 14%. This could mean that children continued to encounter new threats by repeatedly downloading malicious files from the Internet.
By analyzing individual cases of attacks on users, Kaspersky researchers discovered that Cyber criminals have spread the malicious Trojan-SMS on mobile devices in the guise of the popular game Brawl Stars. In particular, they presented it as a cheat for the game that allows you to gain an unfair advantage over other players. Once installed and launched, the application first asks for permission for numerous features (many of which are unnecessary or even risky) and then simply displays pop-ups to unlock access to the content without providing it.
To complicate the deletion of the application, cyber criminals have made it a transparent icon with no name, so that it could not be visible on the home screen. At this point, the application itself, once launched and permissions granted, performs a malicious function, sending SMS messages from the affected mobile device as a spam tool, thus depleting the credit of the victim’s phone.
Kaspersky researchers also found Malicious web pages featuring children’s toys, dolls, and other products. These pages were initially legitimate resources, then hacked by cyber criminals to spread malware. In this case, not only children who want to choose a new toy, but also parents who are looking for them for children can become victims.
“In research, we have seen that attacks on children are becoming a common vector for cybercriminals, and one that is set to become increasingly active. Children often don’t know the basics of cybersecurity and they easily fall into attackers’ traps, for example when they try to download a free version of a game or a new episode of their favorite cartoon. Here because IT hygiene education it is a duty for parents who care about their children’s online safety,” he commented Vasily M. Kolesnikov, Malware Analyst at Kaspersky.