{"id":18879,"date":"2022-06-23T19:33:36","date_gmt":"2022-06-23T14:03:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.varutra.com\/?p=18879"},"modified":"2022-06-23T19:33:36","modified_gmt":"2022-06-23T14:03:36","slug":"ransomware-trends-higher-ransom-demands-more-extortion-tactics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.varutra.com\/varutravrt3\/ransomware-trends-higher-ransom-demands-more-extortion-tactics\/","title":{"rendered":"Ransomware Trends: Higher Ransom Demands, More Extortion Tactics"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ransomware attacks have been a severe issue for the past couple of years and are evolving daily. Organizations widely incorporate advanced cybersecurity technologies and improvised response processes for ransomware. They are comparatively more successful than battling traditional ransomware attacks. The traditional ransomware attacks have been successfully subdued. But with time, these attacks have also evolved and are known as modern ransomware attacks. Among various cybersecurity threats, ransomware trends are higher than other attacks. Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 has published a ransomware threat report. According to which incident responders and researchers provide an in-depth analysis of the ransomware threat groups demanding ransom by threatening the victim to release their sensitive and private information.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2021, there was a 144% increase in the average ransom demand in 2020. There has also been an 85% rise in the victims whose personal information was posted on the dark web. It shows how cyber threat actors have profited from extortion and transformed themselves into big enterprises. This cyber extortion has reached a crisis level due to its success and developed into a business module called RaaS (Ransomware as a Service).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Appearance of the Modern Ransomware Attack<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Modern ransomware threat actors track victims with valuable, sensitive data. Then, they exfiltrate it rather than encrypting it from the victim\u2019s network. By doing so, they demand ransom from the victim and threaten to expose their data. Organizations have a great deal of customer data, and sensitive information, if leaked, can lead to severe issues like lawsuits, regulatory penalties, and damage to reputation. The treat actors take significant time to monitor the victim and take over different parts of the victim\u2019s network before executing the ransomware payload. It completely takes over their network through various human-monitoring stages by deviating them from click-on-the-link inevitable activities. These treat actors ensure the attacks look like an advanced persistent threat (APT) rather than a traditional ransomware attack.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Figure<\/span><\/p>\n

Source: <\/span><\/i>Trend Micro<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Reason for Frequent Ransomware Attacks<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

There has been a rise in ransomware attacks, which are also getting evolved daily. Several reasons are contributing to this factor:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n