Cyber Security Awareness Month: 10-Year Insights on Ransomware

October is the Cyber Security Awareness Month, and it is the appropriate time to take a closer look at the growing ransomware threat.

Mastercard’s latest research, analysing 7,158 ransomware events over the past decade, reveals key trends you should be aware of:

Annual Attack Probability

• Ransomware attacks have increased dramatically over the last 10 years by around 2000%
• 1% of suppliers fall victim to ransomware each year, meaning that organisations face multiple supply chain risks yearly when dealing with several 3rd parties

Cyber Hygiene Findings

Organisations with poor cyber hygiene are 5.3x more likely to be breached. Impacted organisations had

• 14.7 times more critical software vulnerabilities
• 8.6 times more unsafe network services exposed
• times higher frequency of application security issues

Cross Sectorial Impact

• Criminals target all sectors
• Healthcare and Government are top targets due to the amount of critical data in these sectors, but no sector is immune
• The Supply Chain is targeted since other organisations depend on them for their operations

Expanded Geography

• Ransomware attacks target all geographies, from developed countries to remote areas
• 134 countries reported attacks in the survey

24/7 Monitoring

• Attacks happen 24/7/365 and even more on holidays when operationally, organisations are more at risk
• 24/7 monitoring for organisations and their suppliers are critical since rapid response to a ransomware event is essential for response and recovery

Prepare for the Long Haul

• Ransomware activity is increasing. There were 214 different criminal groups behind the 7,158 publicly reported ransomware events cataloged by RiskRecon. In 2017 there were only four
• The fight against ransomware is a journey and must be taken into consideration in risk models, security standards, business continuity plans, policies and procedures
• Leverage on the intelligence and predictive insights provided by tools like RiskRecon to assess the cybersecurity hygiene of suppliers at scale

For more information on our Cyber Resiliency Solutions & Services, please contact us by mail at security@birger.technology.
 
Regards,
 

BIRGER.