The total cost of ransomware attacks is so high that most people would end up being amazed with all things having been considered and taken into account. It is estimated that businesses have lost around $20 billion from ransomware attacks so far, money that would have otherwise gone towards paying expenses as well as improving the services that these companies are attempting to provide in the first place. What’s more is that ransomware attacks are targeting pretty much all spheres of life.
Some of the worst ransomware attacks that have occurred recently have had to do with municipal services such as water suppliers and the like. Some of the most high profile companies that have been hit with ransomware are internet companies, but with all of that having been said and now out of the way it is important to note that they are not the most frequently targeted companies by any stretch of imagination. Quite on the contrary, they are simply the most visible victims and a lot of other companies are impacted in an even worse manner.
The most impacted industry is actually the construction industry since 93 different companies in that sector were targeted with ransomware attacks. The second most affected industry was the manufacturing industry with 86 companies in that sector being attacked. All in all, companies that belong to the IT sector were relatively safe from ransomware attacks because there are five other industries, including construction as well as manufacturing, that were hit even worse by a wide range of ransomware attacks all of which caused significant financial losses for those enterprises.
This comes from a report published by Nordlocker that has put a lot of these types of things into perspective. The report also revealed the organization that was responsible for the highest number of ransomware attacks. The Conti group turned out to be the worst offender, being responsible for 450 attacks so far. To put that into perspective, the Conti ransomware group has conducted more attacks than the second and third worst offenders, namely REvil and Dopple Paymer, combined since both of those conducted 210 and 200 attacks respectively.
It is important to recognize that ransomware is not just something that is impacting tech companies and the like. Companies that belong to a wide range of sectors are all being held back because of these attacks, and this just goes to show how important cybersecurity is regardless of the industry that you are working in. Ransomware can spread through really mundane looking vehicles such as emails, and this is something that everyone can receive even if the industry they work in is the furthest thing from tech.
Read next: Research Reveals Leftover Files Of Popular Websites Can Help Hackers Steal Users Data
Some of the worst ransomware attacks that have occurred recently have had to do with municipal services such as water suppliers and the like. Some of the most high profile companies that have been hit with ransomware are internet companies, but with all of that having been said and now out of the way it is important to note that they are not the most frequently targeted companies by any stretch of imagination. Quite on the contrary, they are simply the most visible victims and a lot of other companies are impacted in an even worse manner.
The most impacted industry is actually the construction industry since 93 different companies in that sector were targeted with ransomware attacks. The second most affected industry was the manufacturing industry with 86 companies in that sector being attacked. All in all, companies that belong to the IT sector were relatively safe from ransomware attacks because there are five other industries, including construction as well as manufacturing, that were hit even worse by a wide range of ransomware attacks all of which caused significant financial losses for those enterprises.
This comes from a report published by Nordlocker that has put a lot of these types of things into perspective. The report also revealed the organization that was responsible for the highest number of ransomware attacks. The Conti group turned out to be the worst offender, being responsible for 450 attacks so far. To put that into perspective, the Conti ransomware group has conducted more attacks than the second and third worst offenders, namely REvil and Dopple Paymer, combined since both of those conducted 210 and 200 attacks respectively.
It is important to recognize that ransomware is not just something that is impacting tech companies and the like. Companies that belong to a wide range of sectors are all being held back because of these attacks, and this just goes to show how important cybersecurity is regardless of the industry that you are working in. Ransomware can spread through really mundane looking vehicles such as emails, and this is something that everyone can receive even if the industry they work in is the furthest thing from tech.
Read next: Research Reveals Leftover Files Of Popular Websites Can Help Hackers Steal Users Data