{"id":18081,"date":"2020-12-20T21:48:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-20T18:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saudishopper.com.sa\/en\/?p=18081"},"modified":"2026-03-27T20:03:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T17:03:22","slug":"attacks-on-remote-desktop-protocols-grew-by-147-in-saudi-arabia-reaching-22-1million-in-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saudishopper.com.sa\/en\/attacks-on-remote-desktop-protocols-grew-by-147-in-saudi-arabia-reaching-22-1million-in-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Attacks on remote desktop protocols grew by 147% in Saudi Arabia – reaching 22.1million – in 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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There has been a worldwide, involuntary shift to relying on digital platforms and tools to work and carry out other aspects of our lives over the past year. The new stay homestay, the safe way of living, has resulted in organizations adjusting their corporate networks and led to the emergence of new threats and strengthening existing ones. This does not necessarily mean that the total number of identified attacks grew in 2020, yet their redistribution is clear. Kaspersky researchers discovered a 242% growth of brute force attacks on remote desktop protocols (RDP) globally compared to last year, and 1.7 million unique malicious files disguised as apps for corporate communication appeared. Both of these findings reflect how attackers are putting their efforts into targeting users that work from home. As a comparison, the number of brute force attacks on remote desktop protocols grew by 147% in Saudi Arabia. These and other findings have been covered by Kaspersky researchers in the company\u2019s\u00a0\u2018Story of the year: remote work\u2019<\/a>\u00a0report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having to\u00a0move employees to work<\/a> from home\u00a0in such a short space of time opened up new vulnerabilities that cybercriminals were quick to target.\u00a0The volume of corporate traffic grew, and users swiftly moved to use third-party services to exchange data and work via potentially insecure Wi-Fi networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another headache for information security teams was, and still is, the\u00a0increased number of people using remote-access tools<\/a>. One of the most popular application-level protocols for accessing Windows workstations or servers is Microsoft\u2019s proprietary protocol \u2014\u00a0R<\/a>DP. Computers made available to remote workers and incorrectly configured grew in number during the first wave of lockdowns across the globe, and so did the number of cyberattacks on them. These attacks were usually attempting to brute-force (systematically trying to find the correct option) a username and password for RPD. A successful attempt resulted in cybercriminals gaining remote access to the target computer in the network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the beginning of March, the number of Bruteforce.Generic.RDP detections have skyrocketed, resulting in the total number detected in the first eleven months of 2020 growing by 2.5 times compared to the number of the same type of attacks in 2019. Overall, 22.1 million\u00a0attacks on Remote Desktop Protocols were detected between January and November 2020. In 2019, during the same 11-month period, Kaspersky detected 8.9 million of these attacks worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aside from RDP attacks, cybercriminals were quick to figure out that many workers replaced offline communication with online tools and so decided to abuse this demand. Kaspersky detected 1.66 million unique malicious files that were spread under the guise of popular messenger and online conference applications, typically used for work. Once installed, these files would primarily load Adware \u2013 programs that flooded victims\u2019 devices with unwanted advertising and gathered their personal data for third-party use. Another group of files disguised as corporate apps were Downloaders \u2013 applications that may not be malicious but can download other apps, from Trojans to remote access tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis year taught us a lot. The move online was not as flawless as one would imagine, especially given that we already lived in what we thought was a digitized world. As the focus switched to remote work, so did the cybercriminals, who directed their efforts to capitalize on a rise in adoption. I am happy to state that the adoption process was fast, which meant the world could go on. Economies did not freeze, and we still get to have our coffee, albeit via delivery services. Yet now we know that there is still a lot to learn about the responsible use of technology, with data sharing at the heart of it\u2019, comments Dmitry Galov, a <\/em>security researcher at Kaspersky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of the biggest challenges of 2020 turned out to be aware of potential online dangers. The key here is not that the sudden demand for online services \u2013 be they work-related or for food delivery \u2013 grew. Many new users were people who, in principle, avoided being so digitally exposed in the first place. They did not necessarily disregard the need for cybersecurity \u2013 they had chosen not to use digital services before and were less educated about what can happen online. This group of people turned out to be one of the most vulnerable during the pandemic \u2013 their level of awareness of online dangers was shallow. It seems like we have been given a big challenge worldwide, and I hope that helped increase the level of cybersecurity awareness among ordinary users\u201d, adds Dmitry.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As working from home is here to stay, Kaspersky recommends employers and businesses to follow the advice below to stay on top of any potential IT security issues when their employees work remotely:<\/p>\n\n\n\n