Security News > 2022 > May > Verizon: Ransomware sees biggest jump in five years
According to the US carrier's 2022 Data Breach Investigations Report released this week [PDF], ransomware accounted for 25 percent of the observed security incidents that occurred between November 1, 2020, and October 31, 2021, and was present in 70 percent of all malware infections.
Ransomware outbreaks increased 13 percent year-over-year, a larger increase than the previous five years combined.
The 107-page report touches on a range of areas in the cybersecurity space, though ransomware was again a key topic.
Still, the list of significant ransomware attacks continues to grow, as illustrated last year with those against high-profile corporations including Colonial Pipeline, meat processor JBS Foods, and software and services company Kaseya.
What isn't so new are the ways ransomware gangs are gaining initial access into a corporate network, according to the Verizon researchers.
Three-quarters of ransomware incidents involve an intrusion via either desktop-sharing software or email, which continues to be a soft spot that bad actors exploit.