Security News > 2022 > March > Nearly 34 Ransomware Variants Observed in Hundreds of Cyberattacks in Q4 2021

As many as 722 ransomware attacks were observed during the fourth quarter of 2021, with LockBit 2.0, Conti, PYSA, Hive, and Grief emerging as the most prevalent strains, according to new research published by Intel 471.

The attacks mark an increase of 110 and 129 attacks from the third and second quarters of 2021, respectively.

In all, 34 different ransomware variants were detected during the three-month-period between October and December 2021.

"The most prevalent ransomware strain in the fourth quarter of 2021 was LockBit 2.0, which was responsible for 29.7% of all reported incidents, followed by Conti at 19%, PYSA at 10.5%, and Hive at 10.1%," the researchers said in a report shared with The Hacker News.

The U.S. remained the most impacted country for PYSA and Hive ransomware attacks as well.

The findings come as a relatively unknown ransomware strain called Nokoyawa with "Striking similarities" to the Hive ransomware has come to light, with most of its targets located primarily in Argentina.

News URL

https://thehackernews.com/2022/03/nearly-34-ransomware-variants-observed.html