VMware Carbon Black released 2020 data that paints a holistic view of the threats healthcare organizations face and should be prepared for in 2021. Researchers found that there were 239.4 million attempted attacks targeting healthcare alone in 2020. VMware Carbon Black was also able to identify the top five ransomware families plaguing the healthcare industry including:
As the headlines showed, ransomware continued to be the weapon of choice in 2020, and extortionware is on the rise. While ransomware has become a tried and true method at this point, extortionware tactics are raising the stakes by threatening to expose sensitive information if the ransom is not paid.
The Sophos Rapid Response team published findings from its investigations into recent ransomware attacks that reveal a failure to keep close tabs on “ghost” account credentials of recently deceased employees can give cybercriminals a discreet foothold to launch an attack.
According to Digital Shadows’ Photon Research Team in Q4 2020, six groups made up 84% of alerts —Maze, Egregor, Conti, Sodinokibi, DoppelPaymer, and NetWalker— from the ransomware data leak sites Digital Shadows monitors.
According to Kroll, a Division of Duff & Phelps, ransomware was the most observed threat in 2020, accounting for over one-third of all cases as of September 1, 2020. Notably, Kroll found that Ryuk and Sodinokibi, perennially the most observed variants in Kroll’s cases, were joined by Maze as the top three ransomware variants so far in 2020. To get some insight on ransomware trends in 2021, as well as how cybercriminals execute this type of attack, we spoke to Wade Lance, Field CTO of Illusive Networks.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has been dealing with an ongoing data breach and ransomware attack since Christmas Eve 2020. The agency says that it "will not engage with criminals."
As healthcare organizations continue to respond to the pandemic, cybercriminals have continued to persist in their attacks on providers, health plans and business associates – compromising sensitive patient data while impacting the delivery of care to patients. Here, Jeff Horne, Chief Security Officer (CSO) at Ordr, discusses the top cybersecurity challenges for healthcare organizations, as well as mitigation strategies.
In September 2020, a ransomware attack forced 6,000 elementary students to shutdown learning at the Newhall School District. Newhall isn't alone. In addition, Harford Public School, Miami Dade County, Haywood County School district in North Carolina are others that experienced similar circumstances. With ransomware surging nearly 110% and no end in sight for remote learning, the environment is ripe for cyberattacks to escalate. To get some insight, we spoke to Dmitriy Ayrapetov, Vice President of Platform Architecture at SonicWall.
Ransomware attacks were on the rise long before the pandemic. Over the last two years, ransomware attacks have risen by 200% – they are becoming more frequent, more expensive, and more sophisticated. This issue is anticipated to continue throughout 2021 and why businesses must be proactive to manage threats and other actionable steps to mitigate any damage.
Security professionals need to protect themselves from attack fatigue, as well as a sense of helplessness. And, despite increased awareness of the need for improved cybersecurity, ransomware continues to plague many organizations. But there are ways to take the upper hand and succeed against this significant risk.
