Ransomware attacks account for nearly half of all security incidents

I ransomware they represented nearly half of the detected security incidents recorded in 2021. In Italy, moreover, these attacks have increased dramatically, marking a worrying + 81% compared to the previous year. This data emerges from Kaspersky’s Story of the Year: Ransomware in the Headlines survey.

Ransomware attacks are becoming more and more prevalent – strong increase in 2021

According to data provided by Kaspersky, during the first 11 months of 2021, the percentage of IR (Incident Response) requests processed by the GERT team (Global Emergency Response Team) related to ransomware attacks was of the 46,7% against 37.9% in 2020 and 34% in 2019. The trend is clear and sees ransomware attacks increasingly relevant in the cybersecurity landscape. It should also be noted that in Italy, the number of ransomware attacks nearly doubled in 2021 in comparison with 2020. The increase recorded by Kaspersky data is of +81%.

The main targets of the attacks

Usually, these attacks are aimed at the government sector ed al industrial sector. In fact, during 2021, ransomware attacks targeting these organizations accounted for nearly 50% of all ransomware-related IR requests. The IT sector and financial institutions are also particularly affected by these attacks which are now being carried out with increasing frequency.

Furthermore, according to Kaspersky, in the course of the 2022 will develop two trends very specific regarding ransomware attacks. Ransomware criminal groups are likely to build Linux builds of ransomware more frequently to maximize attack surface. Furthermore, the attacks will increasingly focus on financial blackmail. This technique involves the threat of leaking sensitive information about victims in order to plunge stock prices or cause other financial damage.