- Apr 16, 2017
- 2,097
Another major exploit kit (EK) looks like it's heading for the EK graveyard as activity from the RIG EK has fallen to less than 25% of what the exploit kit used to handle three months ago, in March 2017.
RIG EK's decline in activity fits a pattern observed on the entire EK market in the past year, as several major and minor exploit kits have shut down.
The list includes Angler, Nuclear, Neutrino, Sundown, Sweet Orange, and Fiesta. If things continue to decline, we may soon add the RIG EK to that list in just a few months.
Browser security has improved, EK development has stalled
There are many reasons why exploit kits are no longer popular. First, browsers are getting harder to hack. Chrome, Firefox, and most recently Edge, have used bug bounty programs to improve the security defenses in their codebases, taking away many of the loopholes EK owners were exploiting to infect users' computers while navigating the web.
Second, Flash usage is declining. This comes as browsers makers are moving to an "HTML5 by default" policy and shipping Flash disabled for most users.
Third, Internet Explorer usage is also going down, as users move to Windows 10 where Edge is the default browser, or they are abandoning the outdated IE on their own, for newer browsers such as Chrome, Vivaldi, Brave, and others.
At last some good news
RIG EK's decline in activity fits a pattern observed on the entire EK market in the past year, as several major and minor exploit kits have shut down.
The list includes Angler, Nuclear, Neutrino, Sundown, Sweet Orange, and Fiesta. If things continue to decline, we may soon add the RIG EK to that list in just a few months.
Browser security has improved, EK development has stalled
There are many reasons why exploit kits are no longer popular. First, browsers are getting harder to hack. Chrome, Firefox, and most recently Edge, have used bug bounty programs to improve the security defenses in their codebases, taking away many of the loopholes EK owners were exploiting to infect users' computers while navigating the web.
Second, Flash usage is declining. This comes as browsers makers are moving to an "HTML5 by default" policy and shipping Flash disabled for most users.
Third, Internet Explorer usage is also going down, as users move to Windows 10 where Edge is the default browser, or they are abandoning the outdated IE on their own, for newer browsers such as Chrome, Vivaldi, Brave, and others.
At last some good news
