INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Adversarial AI, increasingly sophisticated IoT attacks and an increase in fake apps are just some of security trends that consumers need to
be aware of in 2019 according to Avast's annual Threat Landscape Report.The security firm reviews around one million new files daily and
prevents two billion attacks each month which gives it volume necessary to provide valuable insights on latest threats as well as ability to
map growing trends and predict future attacks.Adversarial AILast year a new class of attacks that leverage AI-generated content to evade AI
security controls emerged
These 'DeepAttacks' were used by researchers to fool human users and one of best examples of their potential misuse was fake Obama video
created by Buzzfeed where former president convincingly delivered fake sentences.Avast predicts that we will see even more DeepAttacks
deployed in 2019 as hackers attempt to evade both human detection and smart defences.Sophisticated IoT threatsThe rapid growth of smart home
devices has made it increasingly difficult to buy appliances or home electronics that are not connected to internet.Avast research has shown
that smart device manufacturers often overlook security of their products to keep costs low
However, since a smart home is only as secure as its weakest link, this could provide hackers with an easy way into consumer's home networks
We can expect to see IoT malware evolve to become more sophisticated and dangerous just as PC and mobile malware did before it.Evolving
mobile threatsIn 2019, advertising, phishing and fake apps will continue to dominate mobile threat landscape according to Avast.Last year
company tracked and flagged countless fake apps using its apklab.io platform with some even appearing on Google Play Store
Fake apps are difficult to counter from a security standpoint because as soon as one is flagged for removal, another one pops up to take its
place.This trend will likely continue as fake versions of popular apps find their way on to Google Play Store.Avast's President of Consumer,
Fast forward thirty years and threat landscape is exponentially more complex, and available attack surface is growing faster than it has at
any other point in history of technology
PC viruses, while still a global threat, have been joined by a multitude of malware categories that deliver more attacks
People are acquiring more and varied types of connected devices, meaning every aspect of our lives could be compromised by an attack
