According to the most recent figures from Coveware, the average ransomware payment more than doubled quarter-on-quarter in the final three months of 2019 and average downtime grew by several days, according to the latest figures.
Cybersecurity should be a top priority for every business and a necessity. New threats are continually emerging and continue to compromise business data. Cybersecurity attacks are now targeting all businesses, from big to small, making every business a risk.
Phishing, RDP targeting, and vulnerability exploitation remain the most popular attack methods. Professional services (20%), healthcare (19%) and software services (12%) were the top three sectors targeted.
Coveware analyzed anonymized data from cases handled by its incident response team and partners to compile its Q4 Ransomware Marketplace report. The report revealed the average payment in the quarter was $84,116, up 104% from the previous three months. Coveware claimed the jump highlights the diversity of hackers utilizing ransomware today.
Some cybercriminals are focusing their attacks on large companies where they can attempt to extort the organization for a seven-figure payout. However, on the other end of the spectrum, smaller ransomware cybercriminals continue to blanket the small business space with a high number of attacks, but with lower demands.
Also during the last quarter, the amount of downtime experienced by victim organizations increased from the previous three months — from 12.1 to 16.2 days. This increase was driven by the larger number of attacks targeting businesses with more complex network architectures, which can take weeks to restore and remediate.
Proper cybersecurity policies and procedures put into place, and followed, can decrease your vulnerability. At Centrality, we keep our customers safe from these attacks. Contact us at 502.267.2552 on how we can help your business free from attacks in 2020.
