Cyber threats are no longer limited to a software bug, with innovative cyber attacks now posing threats to airplanes, smart cars and television stations.
According to a report from Trend Micro, there is a new wave of threats that could affect people in a more pronounced and physical level as hackers are abusing security holes in public-facing technologies and in new developments in the Internet of Things.
Security researchers have already demonstrated weaknesses in airplanes, while attackers can black out television networks which could impact the daily lives of regular people.
Trend Micro CTO Raimund Genes said: "In the second quarter, we saw a shift in the threat landscape with cyber criminals becoming more sophisticated and creative, amplifying existing methods of attack, and using them in new ways.
"The ethereal outlook on the threat of cybercrime can no longer be held by the general population. This quarter demonstrated that the potential damage caused by cyber attacks extends far beyond a simple software bug to hacks of airplanes, smart cars and television stations."
The second quarter saw a rise in exploit-kit related attacks, exploiting the vulnerabilities in Adobe Flash.
About 10 of the 11 vulnerabilities added to the current leading exploit kit, Angler, affected Adobe Flash.
The quarter recorded 50% increase in the integration of the Angler exploit kit and 67% rise in overall exploit kit-related threats.
Hackers are now sharpening their attack and becoming selective to improve their infection with CryptoWall ransomware becoming highly targeted, with 79% of such attacks emerging from the US.
The US emerged as major player in terms of receiving and deploying such attacks during the second quarter of this year.
The country is said to host most of the malicious links, spam, C&C servers and ransomware.
