Security News > 2023 > August > Akamai Report: LockBit, Cl0P Expand Ransomware Efforts

Phishing is so last year: Akamai's report finds that zero-day and one-day vulnerabilities caused a 143% increase in total ransomware victims.

Akamai's ransomware report released at Black Hat 2023 revealed that exploitation of zero-day and one-day vulnerabilities has led to a 143% increase in total ransomware victims with data exfiltration of files at the end of the kill chain, now the primary source of extortion.

The authors reported that LockBit ensnared around 39% of all victim organizations tracked by Akamai, which said LockBit's victim count is three times that of its nearest competitor, the CL0P group.

In Akamai's study, 65% of targeted organizations had reported revenue of up to $50 million dollars, while those worth $500 million dollars and up constituted 12% of total victims, according to Akamai.

"It is worth noting how CL0P has a relatively low victim count until its activity spikes whenever a new zero-day vulnerability is exploited as part of its operation," said the Akamai report authors.

The health care vertical saw a 39% increase in victims during the same period, and was targeted primarily by the ALPHV and LockBit ransomware groups.

News URL

https://www.techrepublic.com/article/akamai-report-lockbit-cl0p-expand-ransomware-efforts/