~ There were no notable changes observed in the list of countries with the most number of users who clicked malicious URLs.
Trend Micro prevented about 5.16 billion malicious files from infecting devices in 2015. While this number seems huge, it is half of what was blocked in 2014. As mentioned in previous quarters, this downward trend is reflective of the changes in the global threat landscape. These include file-less malware installations and threats that are not entirely malware-based such as exploit kits.
Since the most common infection vectors are spam and malicious URLs, individuals and organizations can benefit from email and web reputation and filtering. It also always advised for organizations, especially very large enterprises, to back up critical data in case of ransomware outbreaks within their network.
The Trend Micro™ Smart Protection Network™ blocked over 52 billion threats in 2015, a 25% decrease from 2014. This decrease is consistent with the downward trend of system infections since 2012, caused by attackers who have become more selective of their targets as well as the shift in technologies they use.