“My message for companies that think they haven’t been attacked is: You’re not looking hard enough.”—James Snook
“True cybersecurity is preparing for what’s next, not what was last.”—Neil Rerup
Ransomware is a type of cyberattack where the attacker encrypts the victims’ files and holds them hostage until a demanded sum of money is paid. The WannaCry attack in May of 2017 that affected nearly a quarter-million computers in 150 countries brought it to the world’s attention, but it has been a steadily growing problem for years.
The Forbes Annual Threat Report revealed that ransomware attacks grew from 4 million in 2015 to 638 million in 2016. Ransomware is now a billion-dollar industry that keeps evolving; the number of ransomware variants grew 30x last year alone. Attacks have also become more targeted, and are focusing more on businesses than individuals. Most companies now list it as a major concern, and rightfully so.
There are three very good reasons for this meteoric rise of ransomware:
1. It works. In a survey conducted with IT pros from over 300 organizations, nearly 100% reported they were actively backing up their data. Of those who had not yet experienced a ransomware attack, 81% said they were confident they would be able to recover any data attackers encrypted from backup, without paying the ransom. However, of the same pool of IT pros who had actually experienced a ransomware attack, only 42% could successfully recover all their data from backup. To put it differently, attacks against “prepared” victims yielded a 58% success rate.
2. It pays. Two years ago, the average attack yielded a $294 payout. The average this year is $1,077. Not only that, but according to Norton, 34% of victims globally end up paying the ransoms. However, American victims are paying at a rate of 64%.
3. It is accessible. As it has become increasingly lucrative, it has become increasingly popular. With a growing market of would-be attackers, there are entities on the dark web catering to them with Ransomware as a Service (RaaS) products that require little to no hacking knowledge to operate.
This has all led to a self-perpetuating cycle. With more victims willing to pay, these cyber-criminals are taking advantage of a fertile market, and getting bolder in their demands.
An IBM Security study from December 2016 found that over half of the businesses they surveyed said they had already paid over $10,000 in ransom while 20 percent said they’d paid over $40,000.
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