Reports of 2.2 billion malicious attacks on computers and mobile devices in 2015's first quarter and an evolving Dyre Wolf malware threat are reminders of the continuing need for financial institutions to remain vigilant.

In an epic quarter, Moscow-based security firm Kaspersky Lab released the "IT Threat Evolution Report for Q1 of 2015." It discovered 2.2 billion malicious attacks blocked during the quarter on computers and mobile devices. That doubles the amount detected in Q1 of 2014.

In a "good news, bad news scenario," Kaspersky Lab experts detected that mobile threats are declining but are still dangerous. During the quarter, 103,072 new malicious mobile device programs were discovered, which represents a 6.6% decline from Q1 of 2014. However, mobile malware seems to be evolving toward monetization as malware writers design SMS Trojans, banker Trojans and ransomware Trojans capable of stealing or extorting money and users' financial data. This category of malware accounted for 23.2% of new mobile threats in Q1 of 2015. Kaspersky also detected 1,527 new mobile banking Trojans, 29% more than in Q1 of 2014.