Ransomware Attacks Are On The Rise: This Is What You Should Know

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Brand: The Original PC Doctor
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Ransomware attacks can pose a significant threat to businesses, big and small. These attacks are unexpected, and when criminals are able to breach servers, they can gain access to valuable information, credentials, and other content that they can use to launch more severe attacks on the business.

Ransomware as a Service Is the New Big Problem for Businesses

In 2022, there was an increase in the number of ransomware attacks around the globe, with a significant number of these attacks focusing on obtaining credentials. Reports show that the damages caused by ransomware attacks are likely to increase further within the next year.

Reports Of Rising Ransomware Attack Trends

Acronis, a leading influencer in the cybersecurity industry, has recently released its latest report about the effect that digital criminal activities have on businesses. The report states that the majority of attacks noted in the early months of 2022 primarily focused on stealing credentials on servers. The main idea behind stolen credentials is generally to gain deeper access to a server that these criminals are targeting. With higher credentials, more opportunities present themselves to these criminals.

Another research report considered who is most affected by the rising trend of ransomware attacks. This report showed that 35.68% of these attacks are related to industrial sectors. Consumer cyclical sectors accounted for 21.62% of the attacks, and the technology industry also made up about 8.11% of the data that they collected.

Furthermore, details also suggest that some regions of the world are targeted more often than others. Among all of the ransomware attacks reported in February 2022, 42% of those were noted in companies that are situated in Northern America. Europe and Asia also experience a lot of attacks during the same month.

Hacking Groups Launching Ransomware Attacks

There are several popular hacking groups that are known for launching ransomware attacks. Of course, little is known about the individuals who make up these groups, but the collective names of the groups have been identified by several authorities.

The latest research shows that Lockbit 2.0 is the hacking group that was most active during the first half of 2022. In fact, 42% of all attacks that were reported had a relation to Lockbit 2.0. Reports show that Lockbit 2.0 is most likely to target companies that are in the industrial sector.

Apart from Lockbit 2.0, two other hacking groups that were also very active during this period included Conti and BlackCat. Around 18% of all ransomware attacks in the first half of 2022 were launched by Conti, whereas BlackCat made up 11% of these threats.

Protecting Against Ransomware Attacks

Some reports now suggest that by the year 2023, the damages incurred due to ransomware attacks are likely to increase to over $30 billion. This means these hacker groups are not going anywhere and will likely continue to initiate their attacks. The best thing for businesses to do at the moment is to implement preventative strategies that can help them reduce the risk of being affected by a ransomware attack.

Current statistics show that many of these attacks happen to cloud-based servers. If a company is using cloud technology to store its data, then extra caution needs to be exercised in order to help effectively block unauthorised access to critical data.

When it comes to these attacks, prevention is certainly better than treating the issue once it has already happened. The National Institute of Standards and Technology, also known as NIST, has created a system and recommends that organisations base the initial setup of their security modules on this plan. The NIST calls these elements the essential pillars of a security system that would offer protection against these ransomware attacks.

The pillars that they suggest businesses utilise when they plan and develop a security system include:

Identify the specific risks that the company faces with data that is stored on the cloud or on servers. When the owner knows what type of data they could lose or expose or what risks there are, it is easier to determine what actions to take and the type of security system that is required.
Implement protection elements that prioritise authorisation. Access to files should be strictly held behind security programs and passwords that only authorised personnel can access.
Detection is critical, so the company should ensure they have systems that immediately notify the appropriate staff of attempts to bypass authorisation or gain access to unauthorised server areas.
Respond to any attacks when they happen and have the plan to create a separate instance of your communication system that will not disrupt business operations. Google highly recommends the use of WorkSpace, which allows an instance to be controlled by authorised staff, shut down, and even cloned to a new one – with customisable access that helps to block out any unauthorised users.
Recovery is the fifth pillar and occurs when a company does experience a ransomware attack. During this phase, careful assessment of the threat and attack is required, as this helps to develop a recovery plan.

Ensuring staff members also understand how to identify a potential ransomware attack in the workplace is important. Proper training for all staff members who work with email and a web browser is essential. Using browsers with safe browsing technology can also help to limit exposure by not allowing the download of certain files – among which ransomware code may lie. Staff should also be advised not to open emails that are not recognisable or fully trustworthy to them.

Conclusion

With more ransomware attacks being reported by organisations worldwide, now is a good time to work on the cybersecurity systems that have been implemented. Business owners and cybersecurity experts should cover the key entry points that criminals focus on during these attacks. This can help provide better protection against criminal activity, stolen credentials, and full-scale attacks on the organisation’s servers.

References

Written by The Original PC Doctor on 11/12/2022.

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