The New Record for Ransomware Demands Now at $30 Million
Due to the big rise in ransom payments over the past year, some ransomware gangs are getting bolder and demanding more money.
Over the past year, ransomware attacks are not showing any signs of slowing down, with the average ransom paid to cybercriminals by organizations being triple now.
The Cybersecurity researchers from Palo Alto Networks analyzed ransomware attacks that were aimed at organizations across North America and Europe and discovered that the average ransom paid in exchange for a decryption key that unlocks encrypted networks rose from $115,123 in 2019 to $312,493 in 2020, therefore being increased with 171% year-over-year and allowing cybercriminals to make more money than ever before.
Ransomware was and remains an effective tool for cybercriminals as long as many organizations are still poorly equipped to deal with the threat.
The cybercriminals, use the data in extortion tactics, like threatening the victim with publishing the stolen information if the ransom isn’t paid, therefore in some cases organizations that could restore the network without paying the ransom will be giving in to the blackmail and paying up the attackers.
Because the attacks are so successful some ransomware gangs are being extremely bold with their demands. If before 2020, the highest ransom demand paid to cyber criminals was $5 million, during the past year, the amount demanded has doubled, with one victim paying a ransom of $10 million to cybercriminals following a ransomware attack.
The record for the highest attempted ransom demand in 2020 was $30 million, which is double the previous highest attempted demand of $15 million in the previous years.
Ransomware is one of the top threats in cybersecurity.
Organizations around the world are being held hostage by ransomware, and many are being forced to pay cybercriminals because they’re not equipped to combat the threat for varying reasons, from a lack of recoverable backups to the cost of downtime outweighing the cost of paying the ransom.
Some of the well-known Ransomware groups like Ryuk, Egregor, DoppelPaymer, and many others continue to plague organizations, but a cybersecurity strategy might be exactly what you need to protect your data against attacks.
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With Ransomware on the rise, organizations need to learn how to prevent cyberattacks and always consider cybersecurity a top priority.