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Computer Systems Security Planning for Success

Dr. Jan Pearce, Editor

Section 3.2 Malware Targets

A bar chart illustrating malware detections by platform, with Windows being the most targeted.
This bar chart displays the percentage of malware detections across different platforms. Windows is overwhelmingly the primary target, accounting for approximately 83% of detections. Web browsers are the second most common target at around 11%. Android follows with about 3% of detections, and all other platforms combined make up the remaining 1-2%. The y-axis represents the "Percentage of Malware Detections" ranging from 0 to 90, and the x-axis lists the platforms: Windows, Browser, Android, and Other.
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Figure 3.2.1. Distribution of malware detections by OS, Q1 2020. Joseph Johnson. Apr 11, 2022.
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The most popular target for malware is the Windows OS by quite a large margin. This is due largely to its popularity as a desktop operating system. The second largest target is web browsers, which afford malware a unique cross-platform reach. The third largest target is the Android mobile operating system, which while technically Linux runs mostly on mobile phones. Both Linux and Mac do not receive as much malware attention. While this may be partially due to the open-source nature of Linux and the BSD kernel used by Macs, it is also partially due to the lack of popularity of each of these operating systems. Malware is often widely distributed, meaning it can target only the most popular/possibly weakest links and still be successful.
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Example 3.2.2. Zero Days.

Modern operating systems employ layers of security to ensure that programs do not have access to sensitive information or applications. This typically means that for malware to be effective, it needs to elevate its privileges. The most effective malware can perform privilege escalation without requiring user interaction. To do this malware may rely on new/undocumented exploits or vulnerabilities. These new exploits that have been disclosed for "zero days" are hence are referred to as zero days. Zero days are incredibly powerful and may be hoarded by APTs/criminal groups or sold for millions of dollars on the Dark Web.
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