U.S. Experiences 52% Increase in the Number of Ransomware Attacks in One Year

New analysis of current ransomware attacks shows a massive focus on U.S. organizations, with growth spread across nearly every industry.

One would think there would be a slowdown in the number of ransomware attacks due to the amount of threat intelligence and best practices to mitigate this threat.

But, according to Malwarebytes’ ThreatDown 2024 State of Ransomware Report – which compares June and July of this year with last year – ransomware is alive and well and doing “better” than ever:

• The number of ransomware attacks have increased 33% YoY
• The average ransom has climbed to $620,000
• New attack groups are on the rise, representing 30% of the attacks this year

The U.S. is of particular interest to ransomware gangs, with a massive 52% increase in the number of attacks YoY – representing 48% of all ransomware attacks today and dwarfing the next country in the list (the U.K.) by more than 7x.

Additionally, while the data shows a decrease in focus, the services industry continues to be a dominant focus for threat groups, experiencing 25% of all attacks. Manufacturing, logistics, construction and technology sectors all saw increases in the number of attacks as well.

These increases in numbers of attack groups, attacks and ransom amounts are clear indicators that organizations aren’t doing enough to prevent them.  Controls that include security awareness training are critical to ensure attacks are stopped at the initial access attempt, rendering the attack powerless.

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