Kaspersky reveals 30% increase in ransomware attacks

Islamabad:

The proliferation of targeted ransomware groups has increased, with these entities now notorious for attacking governments, specific high-profile organizations or select groups within larger entities, a press statement said. Research conducted by Kaspersky experts reveals a 30% increase in the number of targeted ransomware groups worldwide from 2022 to 2023. According to the statement, this rise is reflected by a 70% increase in the number of victims of targeted ransomware attacks during same period.

Like conventional businesses, targeted ransomware groups recruit cybercriminals as employees to orchestrate extensive and sophisticated operations. Kaspersky researchers closely monitored around 60 targeted ransomware groups in 2023, up from around 46 groups in 2022. They uncovered incidents that suggest collaboration between these groups, with some known for sharing access points on corporate networks selling initial entry points to more advanced ones. ransomware groups capable of executing more sophisticated attacks. Such partnerships streamline the process for cybercriminals, allowing them to skip the preliminary stages and go straight to network reconnaissance or infection, the statement said.

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According to the press release, in 2023, Kaspersky celebrated its seventh year as a vital contributor to the No More Ransom initiative. Its free decryption tools have been downloaded more than 360,000 times, facilitating data recovery for more than two million ransomware victims. However, despite these efforts, global ransomware payouts exceeded $1.1 billion in 2023, reaching an all-time high.

“Targeted ransomware groups are extremely persistent and aggressively pursue extortion. They often resort to threats of releasing stolen data if ransom demands are not met. In some cases, cybercriminals file GDPR or SEC complaints against victim organizations in specific regions for alleged data protection violations,” noted Maher Yamout, Senior Security Researcher at Kaspersky.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 3^rd2024.

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