2021 Prediction: Expect Ransomware Attacks Will Increase in Frequency and Variety

A new forward-looking report from security vendor FireEye Mandiant predicts the greatest single cyber threat today is only going to become a greater menace next year.

With 2020 being a dumpster fire of a year, we’re all looking for some good news to shed some light at the end of this tunnel we’re living in. But with the bad guys evolving their tricks and growing more greedy by the day, there’s apparently no good news on the cybersecurity forefront.

According to the FireEye Mandiant report A Global Reset: Cyber Security Predictions 2021, you should expect to see ransomware grow and develop in scale, scope, effectiveness, and impact. FireEye Mandiant’s chief cyberthreat consultant Jaimie Collier expects ransomware to evolve and expand. "We're seeing the affiliate models expand, where different threat actors combine leading to a huge amount of specialization within the overall process. Some of the actors develop the ransomware, but work with others that specialize in gaining the initial access, and post-compromise exfiltration; all leading to a broader criminal ecosystem.”

We’ve already seen massive growth in the frequency of ransomware attacks this year, as well as previously unthinkable ransom amounts both demanded and paid. So, hearing that it’s only going to get worse next year is as big a warning as you’re ever going to get.

Check out the story over at SecurityWeek.