Security News > 2021 > November > Top 10 ways attackers are increasing pressure on their ransomware victims to pay

Sophos researchers have detailed how ransomware attackers are implementing a wide range of ruthless pressure tactics to persuade victims to pay the ransom.

It highlights the shift in ransomware pressure techniques from solely encrypting data to including other pain points, such as harassing employees.

"Since organizations have become better at backing up their data and restoring encrypted files from backups, attackers are supplementing their ransom demands with additional extortion measures that increase the pressure to pay," said Peter Mackenzie, director, Incident Response at Sophos.

The Sophos Rapid Response team has seen cases where attackers email or phone a victim's employees, calling them by their name and sharing personal details they've stolen - such as any disciplinary actions or passport information - with the aim of scaring them into demanding their employer pays the ransom. This kind of behavior shows how ransomware has shifted from a purely technical attack targeting systems and data into one that also targets people."

Launching distributed denial-of-service attacks against the target's website.

Sophos researchers explain each tactic in more detail, with examples of ransomware groups that have deployed that tactic.

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