Cyber security company Brandefense, which provides digital risk protection services, external attack surface management and threat intelligence solutions to corporate structures around the world, has published the Ransomware Trend Report, which examines the details of the first quarter of 2023 and compares these details with the last two quarters of 2022. According to the report, the sectors most exposed to cyber attacks were private businesses, professionals and public services, while Lockbit was the most active cyber attack group.
Ransomware is one of the most used methods by cyber attackers lately. Cyber attackers demand ransom by threatening to make the data they obtain by infiltrating devices such as mobile phones and computers through these malicious software, or to sell them on the dark web. The expert analyst team of Brandefense, which operates with the aim of protecting the reputation of brands in the digital world with the products developed and solutions in the field of cyber security such as vulnerability analysis, data leak notification, darkweb monitoring, attack surface detection, against the risks that brands may encounter in the digital environment, prepared a report. This study, titled “Ransomware Trend Report”, provides clues about the attack tactics and techniques of the most active ransomware groups for 3 months, while providing valuable information for IT security and risk management professionals to understand current trends in ransomware attacks and protect their organizations from future threats.
Lockbit most active attacker group
The Ransomware Trend Report published by Brandefense covers a nine-month period from the 2022rd quarter of 3 to the 2023st quarter of 1. According to the report, during this period, 34 percent of ransomware victims were related to private businesses, professionals and public services, 16 percent to the manufacturing sector, and 8 percent to information technologies.
The study also includes important findings about ransomware attacker groups. According to the report, Lockbit's attacks in the first quarter of the year decreased by 2022 percent compared to the last quarter of 27; however, it stands out as the most active attack group due to the sophisticated tactics it uses and the breadth of the targeted industry spectrum. Clop, which increased its attack activity by 2023 percent in the first quarter of 800, and Play, which increased it by 147 percent, are among the noteworthy groups.
In the same period, Royal Group's focus on food and agriculture and Clop's focus on information technologies shows that some cyber attackers have developed special techniques to take advantage of security vulnerabilities in certain sectors.
The USA was the target of 47,6 percent of the total attacks
According to Brandefense analysts, who stated that there were 6 victims of cyber attacks in 68 countries in 1192 months, there has been an increase of 12,5 percent to 200 percent in ransomware victims in many countries such as Sweden, Indonesia, Venezuela, England and Italy in the last period. In the first quarter of the year, the USA, England, Canada and Germany maintained their top places in the ranking of the countries with the highest number of victims. While 46 percent of the total victims of attacks were located in the USA, the United Kingdom had a share of 8,6 percent, Germany 4,1 percent and Canada 3,9 percent. In this process, while the ransomware attacks against the important target countries Germany, Brazil and Spain decreased compared to the previous quarter, it was noteworthy that the ransomware attacks targeting the United Kingdom almost doubled.
Ransomware Trend Report, a comprehensive and retrospective report on cybercriminal activity worldwide; It contains several sections with statistics on the size of the ransomware attack by industry, country, ransomware groups, and company size. The report also provides information on the tactics and techniques of various ransomware groups during attacks on vulnerabilities. Ransomware Trend Report is available on Brandefense.io.