"Ransomware Demands Are Growing, but Life Is Getting Tougher for Malware Gangs"

According to cybersecurity researchers at Sophos, the average ransom payment made by ransomware attack victims has increased to $812,260, which is a significant increase compared to the 2020 average of $170,000. The proportion of victims who give in to paying ransoms of over $1 million also increased to 11 percent in 2021 from 4 percent in 2020. An analysis conducted by Sophos finds that ransomware victims who pay the demanded ransom consider it to be the fastest way to restore their network despite the decryption keys provided by the cybercriminals not being trustworthy. Security experts believe that paying a ransom may only motivate the malicious actors to target the same victim again. Ransomware attacks remain successful because there are still common cybersecurity vulnerabilities that cybercriminals can exploit to infiltrate networks and deploy ransomware. Ransomware remains a major cybersecurity problem, but there are signs that the situation could get better. Chester Wisniewski, the principal research scientist at Sophos, highlights efforts being made by the US Homeland Security Department's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to provide accessible and meaningful advice on how to bolster cybersecurity against such attacks. He also points out the demand for better security preparations from companies by cyber insurance providers before issuing policies. This article continues to discuss the increase in the average ransom payment made by ransomware attack victims and improved efforts to prevent ransomware attacks. 

ZDNet reports "Ransomware Demands Are Growing, but Life Is Getting Tougher for Malware Gangs"