In 2021, payment amounts declined throughout the year, with Coveware reporting average payments of $136,576 for Q2 2021, a decrease of 38% from the previous quarter.

One firm, CNA Financial, paid a historic $40 million ransom following a 2021 attack, possibly the largest payout to date. Ransom amounts are also reaching new heights. That same Cybersecurity Ventures report states that ransomware damages reached $20 billion in 2021, and predicts that number to hit $265 billion by 2031. An attack on corporate networks that encrypts sensitive information can cost businesses hundreds of thousands-even millions-of dollars. As such, the financial impact will keep pace.

These trends show us that ransomware attacks are rising at an exponential rate. Cybersecurity Ventures expects that, by 2031, businesses will fall victim to a ransomware attack every other second, up from every 11 seconds in 2021, every 14 seconds in 2019, and every 40 seconds in 2016-an acceleration greatly influenced by the rise of remote work following the global pandemic. In 2021, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received 3,729 ransomware complaints, and those are just the ones that got reported. We’ve updated the post to reflect the current state of ransomware and to help individuals and businesses protect their data. Sadly, ransomware has only become more prevalent since then. This post was originally published during April of 2019 and updated in July of 2022.

What can we tell you, scammers have a certain style guide they adhere to). Especially when you glance down to your screen and see the inevitable truth in black and white (Or red with yellow hazard stripes. You might chalk it up to a glitch…until the IT department calls you.Īnd when they say those three words no one wants to hear, “We’ve been breached,” it will all start to make sense. You might not even realize it at first, the only signs being odd drops in file associations, lag times, and slowdowns. Maybe you’ve beaten the odds so far, but there may come a day when you boot up your laptop, only to find yourself the victim of a ransomware attack. It’s a nightmare scenario faced by thousands every year. “Object Lock 101: Protecting Data From Ransomware”.Take a look at our other posts for more information on how businesses can defend themselves against a ransomware attack, and more. This post is a part of our ongoing series on ransomware.

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