It can feel abstract: a group of organized but faceless criminals hijacking corporate computer systems and demanding millions of dollars in exchange for their safe return. But the impact of these ransomware attacks is increasingly, unavoidably, real for everyday people.
To embed, copy and paste the code into your website or blog:
On May 7, 2021, the operator of a major pipeline system that transports fuel across the East Coast fell victim to a ransomware attack that resulted in a six-day shutdown. Over the following week, East Coast stockpiles of gasoline dropped by about 4.6 million barrels and gas prices surged to their highest levels in six and a half years. The 5,500-mile-long pipeline provides roughly 45 percent of the fuel supplies for the East Coast, representing critical infrastructure for consumers from the Gulf Coast to Linden, New Jersey. Under mounting public pressure to respond and devastating losses to the company’s operational income, the operator authorized a ransom payment of $4.4 million to hackers. On May 31, 2021, one of the world’s largest meat suppliers disclosed that it was targeted by a ransomware attack that forced the company to shut down its meat processing plants in North America. As the meat processing plants depend
Malware-related attacks jump by 54%
Malware-related attacks jump by 54%
Extensive analysis of cyberthreats in 2020 reveals a 91% jump in attacks on industrial companies and a 54% rise in malware-related attacks compared to 2019. Medical institutions ranked first in ransomware attacks, Positive Technologies reports.
The most popular targets
The total number of incidents grew by 51% compared to 2019. Seven out of 10 attacks were targeted. The most popular targets were government institutions (19%), industrial companies (12%) and medical institutions (9%).
In most cases, industrial companies were attacked by ransomware variants such as RansomExx, Netwalker, Clop, Maze, Ragnar Locker, LockBit, DoppelPaymer, and Snake (which deletes shadow copies before starting the encryption process, and has the ability to stop ICS-related processes).