According to a Malwarebytes report, global ransomware attacks are on the rise. The study revealed a significant increase in the number of attacks from July 2022 to June 2023, with the United States bearing the brunt. The group noted that of the 1,900 ransomware attacks it collected, more than 43 percent occurred in the United States, a 75 percent increase from last year.
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Germany, France and the UK also experienced more ransomware attacks, but at a lower rate than the US. The report lists 48 different ransomware gangs attacking U.S. companies, government agencies, and ordinary consumers during this time period, and to make matters worse, healthcare and educational institutions were disproportionately affected. Dental insurer Managed Care of North America (MCNA), for example, suffered a data breach in March, and the New York City Department of Education was hacked in June.
It’s worth noting that Malwarebytes’ research only shows incidents that have been reported, so the actual number of attacks could be much higher than 1,900. The whole point of a ransomware attack is to demand a ransom, so some organizations pay the ransom and keep silent.
Note: A ransomware attack is a type of malware specifically designed to prevent users and organizations from accessing files on their computers. The software locks all files and gives the victim a decryption key after paying a ransom to regain access to the files.
