From its beginning as bruit attacks to more sophisticated professional phishing email campaigns for random targets. As technology for security against ransomware attacks has been improved, ransomware attacks have evolved as well.
Though the number of ransomware attacks has been reduced they are still happening these days. Even a simple ransom attack can cost significant time and money to any business. And a major attack can completely destroy a company.
The worst part is, according to the ransomware statistics 2022, these attacks won’t spare any company. From small startups to large organizations, anyone can be their victim.
When there is no clear plan regarding how the company handles ransomware, it will then lose hefty money, reputation, and valuable data from these attacks. Take a look at this ransomware tracker to learn about different companies affected by ransomware attacks in recent years.
As businesses are facing severe economic uncertainty these days, both individuals and businesses need to manage and control their risks while planning ahead.
Table of Contents
Ransomware Statistics 2022
There are some spine-chilling general ransomware statistics in 2022 that sure are anxiety-inducing especially if you didn’t plan for ransomware attacks.
- According to CyberSecurity Ventures’ 2018 report, by the year 2022, there will be a ransomware attack per 11 seconds.
- Cyber attack statistics released by Symantec show that the ransomware attacks were reduced to 20% in 2018 since their first drop in 2013.
Being a leading name among internet security companies Symantec says, the decline in ransomware attacks is even more apparent because Petya, WannaCry, and other computer worms are not included in it. Then the reduction is 52%.
- According to ransomware statistics 2022 by statistia, there was about 638+ million ransomware attacks were reported worldwide around 2016.
The attacks went wild in 2016. In 2017, the number of attacks was little but their effectiveness was huge.
- According to statistia, the major way of spreading ransomware attacks was phishing emails. Around 2/3rd of the attack took place in the form of phishing emails and attachments. This is how does ransomware get in major business networks.
Spam email campaigns are one of the most papular reasons how ransomware spreads. They are easier to send malicious links and attachments. They are effective because of their personalized approach and the ability to get into complicated security networks.
Not knowing how ransomware gets in’ by most employees is another major cause of ransomware attacks with more than 33% of infection probability.
- According to Stanford University ransomware statistics, around 5 million Americans had to suffer because of the ransomware attack in 2016-2017.
During that time, a huge number of ransomware cyberattacks took place along with WannaCry. Symmetric cybersecurity experts had to block around 40500 consumer infections during that time.
- According to the ransomware statistics 2022 by the University of California – San Diego, there was a huge spike in the search term ‘ransomware’ in 2016-17. It was around 877% increased traffic in 2016-17 till now.
It was the time when ransomware became a huge business because of some major ransom attacks in 2017 according to the google strategist.
Mac Users Aren’t Safe Either
Though windows are one of the major OS for organizations around the globe. It is also considered to be the major target of ransomware attacks. While a ransomware backup is recommended for windows by every cybersecurity professional, Mac users aren’t safe as well.
While Macs are considered rather safe options, threat detection on macs has now reached triple in 2020 and there will be a rise expected in upcoming years. Because of the “Luxury Tech” reputation of these devices and the higher price point than the windowed devices, they are considered more profitable for cybercriminals.
How Cryptocurrency Birth Ransomware Epidemic?
While technology is changing the face of the corporate sector and businesses, the financial scene has changed a lot. Cryptocurrency gained huge popularity in recent years for all the right reasons. However, it also gave birth to modern ransomware attacks as well.
Because cryptocurrency cannot be traced, it helps cyber criminals to stay invisible while demanding payments from their victims. The most preferred one was the bitcoin by the ransomware attackers. Because of the secrecy provided by cryptocurrencies, it was challenging for victims to identify the attackers and retrieve their data.
The increasing popularity of cryptocurrency among businesses caused a huge spike in ransomware attacks. This ransomware epidemic billions of dollars of loss and loss of crucial business data.
In the year 2022, there were a large number of ransomware attacks reported. It was much like an epidemic of ransomware attacks. A few major businesses were targeted by cybercriminals and they asked the ransom payment in crypto hosting. Businesses wanted their encrypted data back and they had limited deadlines. Once it is over, the ransom amount will be doubled.
These attacks quickly became papular among cyber criminals and spread around like a pandemic. Their major targets were government institutions, hospitals, and other important infrastructures.
What Is The Wannacry Ransomware Attack?
You may have noticed this term above but have no idea what this actually is, right? Well, let’s make things simple for you. The Wannacry which is also known as the Wanna Decryptor, WannaCrypt, and WannaCryptor is spread with the help of an exploit EternalBlue.
It was leaked by NSA. EternalBlue enables hackers to get into a system without delaying a moment. A wide number of window systems were affected by this. Largely those who didn’t have updated windows.
Is It Possible For Companies To Track Ransomware Sources?
Having enough information and an effective ransomware backup, companies can be prepared for ransomware attacks. However, business owners often wonder how to track ransomware source. There are some steps that can be helpful in this regard:
First, learn about the known file extensions. Though the list of file extensions can be huge and it will be forever, you can implement file activity monitoring in place. You can have the current and history of the file opened.
An early warning system such as a sacrificed network share can greatly be helpful in stopping ransomware. It will not have access to your important data. Use a drive letter that comes before your correct drive mappings, such as E:. Add thousands of tiny, random, and useless files on the network share’s old, slow drives.
Train your employees about network security. Train them about how ransomware spreads and gets into your network. Teach them the basics effectively to avoid any major issues in near future.
Bottom Line
With the ransomware statistics, you can take a look at how dangerous this attack can be. Mainly because it is silent and is hard to identify at first. No business should ever overlook the risk of ransomware attacks. An effective ransomware backup should always exist for businesses.
