GEC NEWS WIRENorton by Symantec reveals how the global botnet has grown and which countries and cities unwittingly played host to the greatest number of bot infections. 6.7 million more bots joined the global botnet in 2016, and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) made up nearly 11.4% of the Middle East’s total bot population.
According to global research from Norton: Riyadh, KSA, ranked #1 city in the GCC for the highest source of bot infections. It also ranked as the 4th city in the Middle East with 43.1% of bots in the region; Dubai, UAE, ranked #2 most bot infected city in the GCC and 6th in the Middle East with 24.7% of bots in the region; Kuwait City, Kuwait, ranked #3 most bot infected city in the GCC and 10th in the Middle East with 13.2% of bots in the region.
“The GCC is widely considered a region that adopts new technologies more readily when compared to other global markets. But there seems to be a limited awareness amongst consumers about the various risks associated with using internet connected devices. In fact, more than 2.53 million consumers in the UAE were victims of online crime in the past year, and bots and botnets are a key tool in the cyber attacker’s arsenal,” commented Tamim Taufiq, Head of Norton Middle East.
During its peak last year, when the Mirai botnet – made up of almost half a million Internet-connected devices such as IP cameras and home routers – was expanding rapidly – attacks on IoT devices were taking place every two minutes. Unbeknownst to the device owners, one in 50 IoT attacks originated from devices in the Middle East alone. The UAE accounted for 5% of IoT attacks coming from the Middle East in 2016.
The ratio of bots per internet connected user in the GCC was significant as well. There is one bot for every 20 internet users in Kuwait; one bot for every 28 internet users in the UAE; and one bot for every 35 internet users in KSA. The number is lower for Oman where there is 1 bot for every 50 internet users.
