Ransomware Attacks In 2022 Affected 200 Larger Firms In The US Including Education And Health, Report Claims

The year 2022 may be over but a new report is highlighting how nearly 200 bigger American firms were subject to a ransomware attack. And this includes those hailing from sectors like education, government, and health.

Data for this striking new report had been collected through the likes of internal leaks, disclosure statements, public reports, and even the dark web. It proves how hackers ended up selling data in 50% of such attacks that were done in the most sophisticated manner.

The picture is a little skewed but based on the stats placed in front of us, we’re seeing a massive ransomware threat in America which struck a whopping 105 counties. In the same way, 44 different colleges and universities were saved as well as 45 school districts. Also, around 24 healthcare providers had been involved in this terrifying ordeal.

One cybersecurity firm Emsisoft has put ahead such statistics that underline the victims getting involved. Less was linked to the likes of the public sector but more had to do with the likes of the private sector, as per the report. Emsisoft says that such incidents are alarming and some researchers also did miss out on more so the figure provided is just an estimate.

Hence, these figures need to be looked at in a more conservative manner regarding ransomware threats across America as they can’t be used to definitively create a trend.

But such incidents which affect the likes of the public sector really need to consider further as data on such matters are more consistent, the report explained. Due to the acts of this, information gets served as a hit toward ransomware activity in today’s private sector.

Looking at attacks conducted in the year 2021, we saw ransomware attacks take on an increasingly dangerous role. It grew from 77 to 105 but this figure is not too different from what we saw a few years back. During that time, 113 incidents had been recorded.

The researchers noted how the estimated figure for this year had really gotten affected thanks to a major incident that arose in Miller County. It spread to nearly 55 different counties.

Meanwhile, the report also highlights how there was only a local government body that paid such hackers, and they lost $500,000 to those individuals as per Emsisoft’s findings.

Read next: 85% of IT Pros Fear Cybersecurity Issues in 2023
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World