Study Finds 11% of Corporate Cloud Folders are Infected with Malware
Malware has long been thriving on online file-sharing for it to extend its shelf life. This issue, along with the fear of exposing their private information, forces companies to control how cloud file-sharing programs are used within their systems.
This however, does not make them immune to malware, as a recent study showed that enterprise cloud folders are as bad as unrestricted consumer ones.
Even if companies get stricter in cloud applications for their collaborating and sharing, these apps have still turned out to be a breeding ground for malware.
According to a research based on data collected for the first quarter of 2016, up to 11% of companies have infected cloud-sharing programs.
The study, which sampled millions of users, also stressed the increasing growth in this sector – more than doubling up from the 4.1% figure of the previous three months.
The types of malware discovered varied; these included JavaScript exploits, malicious macros embedded in documents, backdoor malware, droppers that spread other malware, adware, spyware, and mobile device malware.
According to data collected for the first quarter of 2016, up to 11% of companies have infected cloud-sharing programs.
The companies’ file-sharing apps held all of the malware found by the research. 26% of the found malware was actually shared – internally in the company affected; externally with partner companies; and even shared publicly.
The researchers also found out that the cloud locations were either affected since they were synced with a malware-infected device, or a user moved the files there themselves.
A majority of the malware found in the sampled companies were JavaScript exploits or droppers, 63% to be exact – leading experts to believe that the malware attacked shared folders during infection.
More than one-fifth of the found malware came from documents that were injected with malicious macros. Mobile malware compromised less than 5% of the discovered malware, leading the research team to believe that corporate folders were synced with infected mobile phones or tablets.
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