Security News > 2021 > May > Ransomware gangs have leaked the stolen data of 2,100 companies so far
Since 2019, ransomware gangs have leaked the stolen data for 2,103 companies on dark web data leaks sites.
A dark web security researcher known as DarkTracer has been keeping track of the data leak sites for thirty-four ransomware gangs and told BleepingComputer that they have now leaked the data for 2,103 organizations.
The data for all the ransomware gang's data leak sites are represented in the chart below created by DarkTracer from May 4th, 2021.
Some of the listed ransomware gangs are no longer in operation, such as NetWalker, Sekhmet, Egregor, Maze, Team Snatch, or rebranded to a new name, such as NEMTY and AKO. The data-extortion industry has become a significant money-maker for ransomware gangs who have told BleepingComputer that victims worry more about their data being leaked than the loss of encrypted files.
Other threat actors are seeing this trend and have begun launching new data leak marketplaces over the past couple of months that exist solely to sell stolen data.
If your data is stolen, you are better off treating it as a data breach and being transparent about it to those who are affected.