<span>Falling returns from cyber attacks are forcing criminals to use unconventional methods to extort money as internet users become more savvy and incidents of crimes decline, a report found.</span> <span>Primarily due to increased awareness, for the first time since 2013, ransomware incidents fell by 20 per cent last year, said American software company Symantec. Ransomware is a </span><span>software breach that threatens to publish the victim's data or permanently block access for them unless a ransom is paid.</span> <span>More than 4,800 websites are compromised globally each month with a type of hacking called formjacking – in which a malicious code is added to </span><span>websites to steal bank card details of shoppers – according to Symantec.</span> <span>“Globally, one in 344 formjacking attacks were blocked in the UAE, representing a serious threat for both local businesses and consumers,” said Gordon Love, vice president of Europe, Middle East and Africa emerging region at Symantec.</span> <span>Consumers have no way of knowing if an online retailer they are visiting has a website that is breached without using a comprehensive security solution, leaving valuable personal and financial information vulnerable, he added.</span> <span>Only 10 credit cards stolen from each of the 4,800 compromised websites every month could yield up to $2.2 million (Dh8.08m) each, according to Symantec’s report. Attackers are increasingly focusing on Internet of Things as an entry point to technical systems, the report added.</span> <span>“With an increasing trend towards the convergence of IT and industrial IoT, the next cyber battlefield is operational technology [use of computers to modify the physical state of a system],” said Mr Love.</span> <span>“A growing number of groups have displayed interest in compromising operational systems and industrial control systems to potentially prepare for cyber warfare.”</span> <span>The report also revealed, email malware attacks in the UAE have increased year-on-year, double the global average. </span> <span>In 2018, one in 183 emails in the country had included a malicious attachment or link, whereas the global average was one in 412 emails during the same time period.</span> <span>The type of cyber attacks also depend on the size of a company. </span> <span>Companies in the UAE with more than 2,500 employees were most likely to be targeted by malware – a software damaging computer networks. Whereas, medium-sized companies with 500 to 1,000 employees, were likely to be most attacked by spam emails – unsolicited messages sent in bulk.</span>