Security News > 2021 > February > Ransomware Demands Spike 320%, Payments Rise

When it comes to paying the ransom in a ransomware attack, demands are on the rise.

Pandemic-themed phishing scams, a sustained onslaught of ransomware attacks and the rise of a remote global workforce all colluded to make the last 12 months particularly brutal for information-security professionals, according to the report.

Proofpoint's State of the Phish report for 2021 surveyed 600 informational security pros across seven countries: Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, U.K and the U.S.; incorporated highlights from an additional third-party survey of 3,500 adult workers across the same countries; and analyzed more than 60 million simulated phishing attacks to reach its conclusions, the company said.

"The scale of the infection, impact to operations, and amount of ransom are all likely to factor into the ultimate decision about how to handle an attack. But a good best practice is to have a thoroughly prepared and tested response in place before a ransomware attack takes hold, one that considers a number of different ransomware scenarios. It's critical to evaluate the risk vs. reward of making a payment, and alternatives they can pursue."

While wide-net bulk phishing attacks are being deployed, threat actors are getting even better at more targeted social engineering scams like spear phishing, whaling and business email compromise attacks.

The total number of reported ransomware infections remained about the same, and Proofpoint said the number of malware infections as a result of phishing was down 17 percent.

News URL

https://threatpost.com/ransomware-demands-spike-payments-rise/163744/