Ransomware attacks by industry, continent, and more
Cyberattacks have been on the rise as criminals attempt to exploit the coronavirus epidemic. The FBI reported a fourfold increase in cybercriminal activity in the first quarter of this year. Lumu, a cybersecurity company published a 2020 Ransomware flashcard to help highlight recent attacks trends. The Lumu Flashcard is essentially an infographic that compiles 2020 ransomware trends using a variety of sources from the cybersecurity industry.
Ransomware: Global trends, frequency, and affected sectors
The flashcard provides a comparison of the average costs of cyberattacks. It categorizes cyberattacks in one section (data breach, malicious hack, and ransomware attacks). According to IBM’s 2020 Cost of a Data Breach Report, the average cost of a data breach was $3.86 million. A malicious breach cost $4.27million, while a ransomware attack cost about $4.44million.
The flashcard includes a portion that provides a global view on ransomware attacks, based upon CyberEdge’s 2020 “Cyberthreat Defense Report.” Ransomware attacks in North America affected almost seven out of ten companies (69%) while they were only 55% for companies in Asia or Oceania. Ransomware attacks afflicted about six in ten (61%) companies across Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East. This compares to 57% of European businesses.
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Another section of this flashcard breaks down ransomware attacks by industry using Safety Detectives 2020 “Ransomware Trends, Statistics” report. North America’s governmental sector was the most affected by ransomware attacks, with 15.4% reporting an attack during the past year.
Manufacturing companies ranked second, with 13.9% reporting that they were the victims of ransomware attacks in the past 12 months. The construction industry was at 13.2%. At the opposite end of the spectrum were 4.6% of financial institutions and 5% education bodies that reported ransomware attacks during the same period.
Cyberattacks are on the rise and so is organizational planning
The flashcard also highlights trends in cyberattacks using a Cybersecurity Ventures Report. These estimates show that cyberattacks could cost $20 billion per year by 2021, up from $11.5 billion in 2019. According to these data, ransomware attacks will occur every 11 seconds by 2021. According to the 2020 Infrascale survey, only 28 percent of SMBs have a plan to protect themselves from ransomware attacks.