Larger companies are much more likely to be attacked.
The cyber security company Delinea is 2022 State of Ransomware Report says that things might improve in the fight against ransomware. Cyber attacks using the popular compromise tactic have decreased significantly over the past 12 months compared to the previous year, and fewer companies are paying ransoms. Still, the annual report found red flags about the spending, planning, and use of cybersecurity tools available to fight ransomware.
A survey of 300 US IT decision-makers by Censuswide, commissioned by Delinea, found that only 25 percent of organizations were victims of a ransomware attack in the past 12 months, a staggering 61 percent decrease from the previous 12-month period, when 64 percent of organizations reported being victimized.
Additionally, the number of companies paying ransoms dropped from 82 percent to 68 percent, which may be a sign that the FBI’s warnings and recommendations not to pay ransoms are being heeded. Larger companies are much more likely to be attacked, with 56 percent of companies with 100 or more employees saying they’ve been the victim of a ransomware attack.
In addition to these positive results, the authors of the survey expressed concern that the potentially reduced threat could lead to complacency. Budgets for ransomware protection are on the decline, with only 68 percent of respondents saying they currently have a budget for ransomware protection, compared to 93 percent last year. The number of companies using an incident management plan also fell, from 94 percent to 71 percent, and only half of companies take proactive, proven steps to prevent ransomware attacks, such as enforcing password best practices (51 percent) and using multi-factor authentication (50 percent).
“The decline in ransomware attacks is an encouraging sign, but organizations must ensure they are constantly defending against this ever-evolving threat. Staying vigilant can work by maintaining a ‘least privilege’ approach, backed by stronger password protection, authentication enforcement and access -control. This should help continue the downward trend,” said Art Gilliland, CEO of Delinea
The survey also revealed that the consequences of ransomware attacks have become more tangible, as compared to the previous year, more respondents stated that their company suffered a loss of income (56%) and a loss of customers (50%). Fewer organizations (43%) reported suffering reputational damage after falling victim to a ransomware attack.
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