Number of Ransomware Attacks Increased by 288%

One significant trend is the prevalent issue of ransomware gangs threatening to leak stolen sensitive data of non-paying victims to damage organizational reputation.

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Nearly 22% of ransomware data leaks analyzed between April and June were attributed to Conti ransomware, closely followed by Avaddon ransomware, which was linked to 17% of ransomware data leaks, according to the NCC Group.

“Over the years, ransomware has become a significant threat to organizations and governments alike. We’ve seen targets range from IT companies and suppliers to financial institutions and critical national infrastructure providers, with ransomware-as-a-service increasingly being sold by ransomware gangs in a subscription model,” says Christo Butcher, global lead for threat intelligence at NCC Group. “It’s therefore crucial for organizations to be proactive about their resilience. This should include proactive remediation of security issues, and operating a least-privilege model, which means that if a user’s account is compromised, the attacker will only be able to access and/or destroy a limited amount of information.”

From NCC Group:

  • The number of ransomware attacks between January-March and April-June 2021 increased by 288%, with organizations continuing to face waves of digital extortion in the form of targeted ransomware.
  • One significant trend is the prevalent issue of ransomware gangs threatening to leak stolen sensitive data of non-paying victims to damage organizational reputation.
  • This issue is affecting organizations around the world, with 49% of victims with known locations in the last three months based in the United States, followed by 7% in France and 4% in Germany. 
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