According to a report published by digital forensics firm, Crypsis Group, the already operational surging trend in demand of ransoms by criminals is growing. As per the data, cryptocurrency ransom Escalated sharply by 200 percent from 2018 to 2019.
The 2020 Incident Response and Data Breach Report published by Crypsis Group indicates that it’s not astonishing that cyber criminals have demanded outrageous cryptocurrency ransoms over the last three years. According to the firm, the average amount demanded by cyber criminals was $115,123.
Cryptocurrency ransom demands on the rise
Moreover, the digital forensics firm noted that cyber criminals are changing their strategies to focus on enterprises in their ransomware attacks. As per the report, the attackers cautiously select their victims, so as to target those with the capability to pay huge amounts. Tactics used by criminals are gradually advancing over time.
Indeed, these new strategies have also manifestly adjusted pretty well, to conquer defense strategies put in place by the unfortunate victims. Additionally, the report highlighted that last year saw the rise of ransomware alterations like Phobos, Sodinokibi (or “REvil”) and Ryuk claiming that their strategies are “highly effective.”
Ryuk ransomware was the most widespread variant back in 2019 according to the digital forensics company. The report notes that cyber criminals depend on a banking trojan called TrickBot, to deploy their scam and criminal activities to the victims.
Common ransomware attacks
Back in Q4 2019, the most common type of ransomware was Sodinokibi on incidents count. In fact, Sodinokibi is a ransomware-as-a-Service but only facilitates a fixed amount of ransomware affiliates to spread the ransomware.
Furthermore, Ryuk was also prevalent in terrorizing large enterprises during Q4 of 2019. Additionally, it was the second most popular after Sodinokibi. The median amount of ransomware demand by Ryuk skyrocketed sharply which was responsible for the majority of the hike in the average ransom payment doubling in Q4 2019.
