Ransomware has been a daunting threat to organizations worldwide for decades. Recent trends show that ransomware attacks continue to grow more advanced and persistent. It’s become increasingly clear that no one is spared as cybercriminals carry out attacks that even target the children of corporate executives to force ransom payments. Despite the high-profile takedowns of criminal ransomware networks in “Operation Endgame” and “Operation Duck Hunt,” the most notorious ransomware groups remain tenacious, quickly regrouping after disruptions and aggressively launching new attacks.
The Zscaler ThreatLabz team has just released its latest research on this critical ransomware threat landscape in the ThreatLabz 2024 Ransomware Report, shedding light on new data and trends. ThreatLabz analyzed 4.4 million ransomware attacks blocked by the Zscaler cloud, amounting to a 17.8% year-over-year increase, and conducted extensive analysis of ransomware samples and attack data. The report offers valuable insights into primary attack targets, the most dangerous ransomware families, and the evolving tactics and demands of ransomware threat actors. Most shockingly, it reveals that ThreatLabz uncovered a record-breaking USD$75 million ransom payment.This blog post will summarize select findings from the report. For a comprehensive understanding of the ransomware landscape and how to strengthen your organization’s defenses against this pervasive threat, download the Zscaler ThreatLabz 2024 Ransomware Report.
5 key ransomware findingsThe ThreatLabz team tracks ransomware activity extensively to identify and understand how these threats are evolving. The following subset of findings highlight some of the most prominent trends and targets.
Top ransomware trends1. The number of extorted companies based on analysis of malicious data leak sites grew by 57.8% year-over-year, despite law enforcement actions that include criminal arrests, indictments, and seized infrastructure. The report breaks down the most significant law enforcement operations against ransomware groups and initial access brokers over the past year.
- The use of voice-based social engineering to gain entry into networks is on the rise—a technique made popular by Scattered Spider and the Qakbot threat group.
3. The exploitation of vulnerabilities continues to be a prevalent attack vector for ransomware, emphasizing the critical need for measures like prompt patching and unif
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