Sep 20, 2022 - Technology

Report: Ransomware is growing despite company investments

Illustration of a ransom note made of binary numbers.

Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios

Despite increasing company budgets for cybersecurity, ransomware attacks still affected nine in 10 U.S., U.K. and Canadian organizations in the last year.

Driving the news: Cybersecurity company SpyCloud released a report today based on a survey of 310 IT professionals at organizations with at least 500 employees. The survey was conducted between September 2021 and August 2022.

By the numbers: In the survey, 90% said they were affected by ransomware in the last 12 months — up from 72.5% the year before.

  • At the same time, at least half of respondents said the classic ransomware prevention tools — such as multifactor authentication and phishing email detection — were "already in good shape" in their companies.
  • Companies with more than 25,000 employees saw the biggest jump in ransomware: 82% were targeted in the last year, compared to 52% the year before.

Why it matters: The tools and plans companies invest in to prevent ransomware don't appear to be working,

  • Many have relied heavily on classic solutions like multifactor authentication and data backup systems, overlooking other issues like compromised web sessions and stolen login credentials sold on the dark web.
  • Roughly one in four IT professionals said their companies plan to invest in credential-monitoring tools in the next year.

The intrigue: More companies have turned to alternative ransomware response methods in the last year.

  • 72% said they purchased a ransomware-specific rider to their cyber insurance policies, compared to just half last year.
  • 45% have retained a third-party crypto payment broker, compared to 36% last year, since most ransomware gangs demand bitcoin during attacks.

Between the lines: 65% of respondents whose companies were hit by ransomware ended up paying a ransom to the hackers. But only half of them recovered the data fully after payment.

💭 Sam's thought bubble: Ransomware hackers — like most cyber criminals — are finding new avenues to break into companies as their tools and techniques become more widely known.

  • But companies can still get ahead of the curve: Raising awareness about attacks targeting employees' personal devices and monitoring the dark web for stolen employee credentials are good ways to stay one step ahead.

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