Over the last few years, the number of users encountering targeted ransomware – malware used to extort money from high-profile targets, such as corporations, government agencies, and municipal organisations – increased by 767%.
This increase in targeted ransomware occurred alongside a 29% decrease in the overall number of users affected by any kind of ransomware, with WannaCry still the most frequently encountered family. These are among the most important findings in Kaspersky’s recent report on the ransomware landscape from 2019-2020.
The ransomware threat – when attackers encrypt private information and hold it to ransom – became mainstream news in the 2010s following large-scale outbreaks, such as WannaCry and Cryptolocker. They targeted tens of thousands of users and often requested relatively small amounts from victims to have their files returned.
Over the years, these campaigns have been on the decline. In fact, from 2019 to 2020, the number of unique users that encountered ransomware across all platforms declined from 1,537,465 to 1,091,454 – a decrease of 29%.
The number of unique users from South Africa increased by 26%, ranking South Africa 3rd on the list of countries with the highest number of users encountering targeted ransomware.
“The ransomware landscape has fundamentally changed since it first became big news in the security community. We’ll most likely see fewer and fewer widespread campaigns targeting everyday users,” says Fedor Sinitsyn, security expert at Kaspersky.
“Of course, that’s not to say users aren’t still vulnerable. However, the primary focus will likely continue to be on companies and large organisations, and that means ransomware attacks will continue to become more sophisticated and more destructive. It’s imperative that businesses adopt a holistic, comprehensive set of security practices to protect their data.”
