Cloud-based Malware Dominated by Ransomware Threats

Social networks, collaborative platforms, and cloud services are among the most common infection vectors when it comes to malware, a report by Netskope reveals.

The report states that over 43% of cloud-based malware consists of Javascript exploits, Office macros, PDF loopholes, and droppers. Jamie Barnett, CMO of Netskope, shared some other disturbing numbers about cloud storage. She is quoted saying that a worrying 10% of all enterprise-owned cloud storage 'has malware' in it, which is no small figure, considering the implications of a malware-infested corporate network.

Online applications like Dropbox can be used to disseminate malware in a number of ways. The most obvious one is uploading badware and infected files to the cloud, then sharing the files with victims using company computers. Enterprises often do not block this type of cloud service sharing, since sites like Dropbox have a lot more regular users than bad actors. The fact that a single employee can further re-share an infected file on the company's own internal network increases the risk of large-scale infection.

Netskope also compiled and published a list of the top 20 cloud-based applications that are used by enterprises. The corporate version of Microsoft's OneDrive service tops the list, but the report highlights the appearance of another collaborative app named Slack, which trails the last spot on the list. While this is the first time Slack shows up on the list over the three odd years Netskope has been gathering this sort of information, companies are embracing the idea and starting to roll it out on a larger scale. Slack was until recently primarily used by smaller companies and individuals, but it seems larger entities are embracing it as well.

The other potential issue that the report underlines is that a huge percentage of the cloud-based software and applications used by enterprises are, simply put, not enterprise-ready. Statistics provided by Netskope indicate that your average enterprise has 977 cloud-based apps – an increase from last quarter's 935. The issue is, a whopping 95% of those apps are not enterprise-ready. Marketing apps are the most problematic area – 97% of those were found not suitable for enterprise use. On the other hand, the most secure area turned out to be cloud storage applications. Most secure is used a bit loosely here, as 77% of those apps were again not enterprise-ready.

Companies adopt a gradually increasing number of cloud solutions, as new options appear and specific niches are filled. However, this rate of adoption is partly checked by restrictions imposed by the big companies, who may opt for an alternative that is specifically tooled for enterprises. In all, the outcome may lead to even further diversification and an even larger number of cloud apps in use.

An example given by Netskope's CMO is a possible restriction of Dropbox use in a big company, which may force workers to branch out into other, potentially much riskier cloud services.