While financial gain is usually the primary motivation driving large cybercrime groups, some may also have political or ideological motives beyond just monetary profits. However, most large, sustained cybercrime operations still require substantial funding to cover operational costs. So even for groups with additional non-financial goals, the financial aspect of their activities remains very important [...]
More sophisticated, well-funded cybercrime groups do dedicate some resources towards research and development activities. This could include developing new exploits, evasion techniques, malware variants and updating toolkits based on emerging threats and weaknesses that get detected.
Some groups are able to become bigger due to their success and profits. Groups that are particularly successful at compromising systems, stealing data or funds are likely to reinvest those profits into expanding their operations. This enables them to take on more projects and recruit/pay more members. Large groups may also be able to dedicate [...]
Having a clear, comprehensive ransomware response plan is essential for any business. This should include details on what everyone's responsibilities are, how to make and recover backups and what reporting steps are required.
Law enforcement agencies in the US and UK advise against paying ransomware demands, as this provides further encouragement to cybercriminal gangs. Businesses that do are more likely to come under further attack than those that refuse.
Costs for ransomware include direct lost business, ransomware payments, recovery expenses, investigation and future mitigation, fines from regulators and class action lawsuits. In 2023, this added up to an average total of $5.13 million, compared with $4.45 million for data breaches as a whole.
Traditional antivirus software may have difficulty detecting the latest advanced attacks. Monitoring tools that analyze behavior within the network are therefore essential in spotting ransomware attacks.
Every business is at risk of ransomware, regardless of size or industry. However, the most common targets include firms in the healthcare, education or public services sectors.
The majority of ransomware attacks enter networks via email. Phishing attacks and human error are also among the main causes of ransomware.
Traditional forms of ransomware include locker and crypto malware. However, the most common form today is double extortion ransomware, which leverages data exfiltration.
