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Cyber security company
Kaspersky
discovered 15 million disguised cyberattacks
VPN
between October 2024 to September 2025. These fake VPNs often deliver malware ranging from downloaders and adware to trojans capable of stealing data and providing remote access to attackers.
Kaspersky urges users to be vigilant, especially Gen Z who use VPNs twice as often.
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“Generation Z may be privacy conscious, but they are also pragmatic and often driven by convenience. This behavior creates loopholes that are actively exploited by cybercriminals,” said Evgeny Kuskov, Security Expert at Kaspersky in a statement, Friday (5/12).
“Attackers may intentionally promote pirated versions of premium VPN services and create apps that imitate the names and designs of well-known privacy brands. As a result, young users who truly believe they are strengthening their privacy may, in fact, hand over access to their devices and personal information directly to attackers,” he added.
According to research, Gen Z uses VPNs, encryption tools, anonymous browsers and other privacy-enhancing technologies twice as often as older age groups.
Growing up in an era of data leaks, algorithmic tracking, and hyper-connected social platforms has made them much more aware of how fragile online privacy is.
VPNs and anonymous browsers themselves have become essential elements for protecting personal data, protecting online identities, and securing the use of public Wi-Fi.
However, this shift brings unexpected dangers.For security reasons, many young users may turn to free, cracked, or fake VPN apps.
These tools appear protective on the surface but actually put them at much greater risk.
In the period October 2024 to September 2025, Kaspersky experts detected more than 15 million attack attempts disguised as various VPN applications.
In the observation period, the most common threats targeting users were dominated by three categories of malware and unwanted software.
AdWare leads the list with 284,261 cases, continuing to annoy users through intrusive ads, unwanted redirects, and aggressive tracking.
Then, the Trojan followed with 234,283 detections, posing a serious danger due to its ability to steal data and allow full remote control of the compromised system.
Meanwhile, downloader threats ranked third with 197,707 cases detected, reflecting their role as a primary entry point for installing additional malicious payloads on victims’ devices.
Kaspersky researchers also identified phishing pages that imitate login portals for well-known VPN services.These sites trick users into entering their credentials, thereby risking losing access to their VPN accounts.
They can also potentially lose access to many other accounts, if the same password is used repeatedly across multiple platforms.
The main thing to pay special attention to is how similar these phishing pages look to each other.This indicates that the pages were created using a phishing kit that allows attackers to mass produce convincing and ready scam pages
use with minimal effort.
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