"Ransomware Incidents Hit Record High, But Law Enforcement Takedowns Slow Growth"
According to security researchers at Corvus, ransomware incidents surged by 68% in 2023 to reach a record high. However, law enforcement takedowns are having an impact on the prolific nature of ransomware gangs. In total, 4496 ransomware leak site victims were observed in 2023. This compares to 2670 in 2022 and 3048 in 2021. The researchers also found that the number of active ransomware groups grew by 34% between Q1 and Q4 2023. The researchers believe this trend is linked to the fracturing of well-known ransomware groups that leaked their proprietary encryptors on the dark web, making them available to new actors. The researchers noted that encouragingly, ransomware attacks fell by 7% in Q4 2023 compared to Q3. The researchers attributed this fall to recent law enforcement operations against prominent ransomware operators last year. This includes the takedown of the ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware group's leak site and the dismantling of the QakBot gang's infrastructure.