Research report analyses ransomware attack patterns

AN IT security company has released a threat research report on ransomware between August 2021 and July 2022.

Ransomware attacks on educational institutions more than doubled, and attacks on the healthcare and financial verticals tripled.

Barracuda researchers found the dominant targets are five key industries: education (15 percent), municipalities (12 percent), healthcare (12 percent), infrastructure (eight percent), and financial (six percent).

The number of ransomware attacks increased year-over-year across each of these verticals, and attacks against other industries more than doubled.

Service providers were hit the most, but most ransomware attacks don’t make headlines. Many victims choose not to disclose hits, and the attacks are often sophisticated.

The report details three examples that researchers have seen.

“Many cybercriminals target small businesses in an attempt to gain access to larger organisations,” said Barracuda CTO Fleming Shi. “Sophisticated security technologies should be available as services, so that businesses of all sizes can protect themselves against these ever-changing threats.

Shi said security solutions should be made more accessible and user-friendly.

Click here for the full Barracuda threat report.