"Ransom Payments Have Nearly Tripled"
In 2020 researchers from Palo Alto Networks found that manufacturing, healthcare, and construction companies suffered 39% of ransomware attacks in 2020. The average ransom paid by companies jumped 171% to more than $312,000. The highest ransom demand was $30 million, and the highest-known paid ransom was $10 million. The researchers stated that as organizations shifted to remote workforces due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ransomware operators adapted their tactics accordingly. Adversaries started to increase the use of malicious emails containing pandemic-based subjects and even malicious mobile apps claiming to offer information about the virus. Researchers at Chainalysis found that ransoms paid using cryptocurrency surged 311% in 2020 and approached a grand total of $350 million.