Ransomware Attacks Decline
Ransomware attacks saw a nearly 25% decline in April of this year, according to the latest monthly Cyber Threat Intelligence Report by NCC Group, a UK-based information assurance firm. While the decline is encouraging, the figures remain worryingly high, with 352 attacks recorded in April, compared to 459 in March. Although this represents a considerable monthly drop, the current concern is that figures for June could be significantly larger as a result of the MOVEit Cyber Attack.
Key Factors Behind Numbers
One of the primary factors contributing to March's inflated numbers was the extensive exploitation of the GoAnywhere MFT vulnerability. However, subsequent patches and fixes have managed to curtail some of these exploits. "Looking at the first four months of 2023, it is clear that ransomware numbers are trending much higher than in 2022," the report noted. "Although the results this month have declined, the number of victims is the second highest ever recorded in our database (beginning 2021)."
Attack Groups And Sectors
The report also broke down the threat landscape by the numbers. Over half of ransomware attacks in April were perpetrated by three groups: Lockbit 3.0, BlackCat, and BianLian, conducting 107, 50, and 46 attacks respectively. In terms of sector targeting, Industrials & Manufacturing bore the brunt, accounting for 32% of all attacks, followed by Consumer Cyclicals and Technology, each with 11%. Geographically, North America suffered the most, home to 50% of all attacks, followed by Europe with 24%, Asia with 10%, and 8% occurring in undisclosed regions. It is worth noting that these numbers do not account for all cyber attacks on UK businesses, only Ransomware, UK Businesses are targeted by Cyber attacks roughly every 60 seconds according to recent studies.
Double Extortion Ransomware
NCC Group's global head of threat intelligence, Matt Hull, highlighted the worrying trend of "double-extortion" ransomware attacks, where data is leaked to pressurise victims into making ransom payments. "This kind of malicious effort is on the rise," Hull announced. In the face of this escalating threat, Matt Hull urged organisations to remain on guard. "As we see these growing levels of activity, organisations should remain vigilant and adapt their security measures to stay one step ahead, adopting a comprehensive and multi-layered defence strategy that is malleable to a changing threat landscape," he advised.