news > Cyber-Security > CS-General
by Kevin Wood

Ransomware attacks on the rise, crypto crimes on the decline

Analysts are predicting another expensive ransomware year

Through the month of June, 2023, roughly $500 million has already been paid out to ransomware attackers by companies wanting to get their data back and keep it protected.  Based on that timeline and amount, that number is predicted to climb to around $900 million by the end of the year.

On the other hand, crypto crimes – such as scams or hacking into wallets – has decreased since this time last year by around 65%.  It would seem attackers are more focused on ransomware attacks, locking up and stealing data in order to get money.  Analysts are unsure if it’s because the attacks are easier or if the possible rate of return is greater.

With a predicted year of $900 million, that will come in second only to 2022 which saw a total payout of $939.9 million.  As of the time of this article, the current amount paid out in 2023 is roughly 90% of what was paid out in 2022.  The thought is that crypto was big in the news and attackers focused on that as a means of getting money.  With the lull in conversations, they’ve refocused their efforts to ransomware attacks. 

Part of the reason for the very high payout amount is because attackers are focusing their efforts on larger organizations.  A bigger organization typically has more data, and more to lose, and may be more than willing to pay up to get their data back.  Payments to attackers are made in Bitcoin, making it extremely difficult to trace payments and charge anyone with a crime.  There are instances where people have been charged but that number pales in comparison to the number of ransomware attacks that go un-punished.

It’s not only companies that are being targeted but government agencies as well – from the city and county level up to the federal level.  FBI analysts stated there were 820 attacks against critical US infrastructure in 2022.  This includes water treatment facilities, power plants and more.  No organization of any kind is safe from these types of attacks.

In addition, more people are working at home or abroad and it leaves plenty of gaps in the standard company IT network for an attacker to get into a network.  Couple that with phishing scams, attackers are pulling out all the stops and doing whatever they can to get into a network and encrypt and steal data.

This is one of the reason’s it’s important to have not only a rigid backup solution but a secure network and ample employee training to ensure the company is doing everything it can to protect itself.  It only takes one instance where an attacker is able to get in before things go south, quickly.  With decades of experience, Balance Business Group has helped many organizations shore up their IT infrastructure as well as provide a state-of-the-art backup and recovery solution.  If you’re interested in more information, click the “Contact Us” button below to schedule a meeting with our team to discuss what options are available.

“For one thing, big game hunting — that is, the targeting of large, deep-pocketed organizations by ransomware attackers — seems to have bounced back after a lull in 2022. At the same time, the number of successful small attacks has also grown. Both trends are evident on the chart below, which shows how the distribution of ransomware payment sizes has changed since 2020.”
– Chainalysis