Cybersecurity companies warn about the growth of ‘ransomware’

Financial data and data relating to patients and clients from the financial, pharmaceutical and health sectors make up the information that the cybercriminals most often leaked after obtaining them with a ‘ransomware’-type attack.

Ransomware-type attacks are those that install malicious software on computers that encrypts data and blocks access to it, demanding payment in exchange for releasing it. In recent years cybersecurity companies have warned of both its growth and its sophistication, which with new trends such as ‘Ransomware-as-a-Service’ or double and even triple extortion.

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Although anyone can be the target of these attacks, in Rapid7 have detectedfrom our own analysis tools, the most common types of data cybercriminals are after and the industries most affected by ransomware.

Rapid7’s analysis focuses on double-extortion ‘ransomware’ attacks, in which not only payment is demanded for data release, but publication is threatened. And they have identified financial data is the most leaked in these situations (63%) followed by patient or customer data (49%).

By sectors, the most affected is the financial sector, from which customer data is preferably filtered (82%) and not so much from the companies themselves, whose leaks can be divided into internal data (50%) and employee and resource data humans (59%).

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Behind the financial sector, the pharmaceutical and health sectors are the most affected. In both, internal financial data account for 71 percent of the leaks, while that of patients and clients account for 58 percent.

The pharmaceutical sector, for its part, is the target of ‘ransomware’ attacks for its intellectual properties, given its value for research and development in the industry.

“When it comes to ransomware, we can all be targets, but we don’t all have to be victims,” they assure from Rapid7 in a statement. And for this, they recommend not only having a data backup, but also “include strong encryption and network segmentation”.

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Prioritizing data for additional protection, understanding that there are industries more prone to data leaks, and for businesses and customers to understand its importance and be prepared for a breach are all important when it comes to protecting yourself from a ransomware threat.

Source: Elcomercio

James

I have worked as a journalist for over 10 years and have written for various news outlets. I currently work as an author at 24 News Recorder, mostly covering entertainment news. I have a keen interest in the industry and enjoy writing about the latest news and gossip. I am also a member of the National Association of Journalists.