If the Colonial Pipeline, Accenture and JBS attacks didn’t convince you of the severity of ransomware, perhaps the grim words of FBI Director Christopher Wray will. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Wray recently went as far as comparing the challenges posed by ransomware to 9/11, revealing the FBI is investigating 100 different ransomware variants.
As their ambitions grow, cybercriminals are becoming increasingly dangerous. In 2020, a new organization became a victim of ransomware every 10 seconds, according to Check Point. It’s never been easier to carry out a ransomware attack, especially when the Ransomware as a Service model opens the door for criminals without the technical knowledge to develop their own variants. Emsisoft recently estimated that the global damages in ransom costs alone have surpassed $18 billion, with $920 million of that sum attributed to the United States. By all accounts, those numbers are only projected to worsen.