"Ransomware’s New Swindle: Triple Extortion"

Ransomware attacks are exploding at a staggering rate, and so are the ransoms being demanded.   Now security experts are warning against a new threat called triple extortion.  Triple extortion means that attackers are expanding out to demand payments from customers, partners, and other third parties related to the initial breach to grab even more cash for their crimes.  Researchers at Check Point discovered that ransomware payments have spiked by 171 percent over the past year, averaging about $310,000.   Researchers said the first case of triple extortion they observed in the wild was in October when a Finnish psychotherapy clinic was breached. Even after the clinic paid the ransom, the attackers threatened patients of the clinic with releasing their therapy session notes unless they too paid up.

Threatpost reports: "Ransomware’s New Swindle: Triple Extortion"