Unique malware detections during the first three months of 2025 were 171% higher than the last three months of 2024, signifying the largest jump in novel payloads yet, according to Channel Futures.
On the other hand, novel malware threats on endpoints surged 712% following a steady decline during the last three quarters, with LSASS dumper being the leading endpoint-based malware threat, the latest WatchGuard Technologies report showed. Additional findings revealed Trojan.Agent.FZPI to be the primary malware discovered on encrypted connections, while both ransomware and known network attacks declined quarter-over-quarter. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence was observed to be increasingly used for more advanced social engineering and spear-phishing attacks. "Malicious hackers have always had packing and encrypting tools to try to make old malware look different and more evasive, and we suspect AI will help improve that. In short, we know threat actors are starting to leverage AI in all those areas, and it could explain the big rise in both the volume and sophistication of threats," said WatchGuard Technologies Chief Security Officer Corey Nachreiner.
On the other hand, novel malware threats on endpoints surged 712% following a steady decline during the last three quarters, with LSASS dumper being the leading endpoint-based malware threat, the latest WatchGuard Technologies report showed. Additional findings revealed Trojan.Agent.FZPI to be the primary malware discovered on encrypted connections, while both ransomware and known network attacks declined quarter-over-quarter. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence was observed to be increasingly used for more advanced social engineering and spear-phishing attacks. "Malicious hackers have always had packing and encrypting tools to try to make old malware look different and more evasive, and we suspect AI will help improve that. In short, we know threat actors are starting to leverage AI in all those areas, and it could explain the big rise in both the volume and sophistication of threats," said WatchGuard Technologies Chief Security Officer Corey Nachreiner.
