Security News > 2022 > March > Posts on name-and-shame dark web leak sites climbed 85% in 2021

Ransomware payments hit new records in 2021 as cybercriminals increasingly turned to dark web leak sites where they pressured victims to pay up by threatening to release sensitive data, according to a research released from Unit 42 by Palo Alto Networks.

The Conti ransomware group was responsible for the most activity, accounting for more than 1 in 5 of cases worked by Unit 42 consultants in 2021.

Conti also posted the names of 511 organizations on its Dark Web leak site, the most of any group.

The report describes how the cyber extortion ecosystem grew in 2021, with the emergence of 35 new ransomware gangs.

The number of victims whose data was posted on leak sites rose 85% in 2021, to 2,566 organizations, according to Unit 42's analysis.

60% of leak site victims were in the Americas, followed by 31% for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and then 9% in the Asia-Pacific region.

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https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/03/30/dark-web-leak-sites/