Fakeupdates, also known as Socgholish, is a platform that facilitates exposing victims to additional malicious code. What makes the platform so effective is that users get packages automatically downloaded to their storage devices, without having to click on a malicious link or the like. It started to really take off in Sweden during November last year when the impact was 2 percent, but after that the attacks have increased successively in recent months.
This follows the general trend of increased cyber attacks against organizations in Sweden during the beginning of the year. Just at the beginning of 2024, the average was 777 attacks per organization per week in Sweden, and during March they reached the height of 1172. During the last six months, the healthcare and telecoms industries have been most vulnerable with 1210 and 1100 attacks per organization per week, respectively.
– Malicious code with an impact of over six percent is not common. Often the most malicious codes are somewhere between one and three percent, but this March Fakeupdates stood out. The development is a sign that it is incredibly important to take cyber security seriously by reviewing your routines and systems, says Mats Ekdahl, security expert at Check Point Software.
The second most harmful code in Sweden during the month of March was Formbook with an impact of 2.01 percent and in third place is Qbot with 1.34 percent.
