The year 2021 has met with a sky-high record of increase in Ransomware demand and Payments. The number of ransomware gangs increases alongside Dark Web “leak sites,” pressuring victims into paying a ransom.
Some of the most alarming statistics that are evident within the Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 Ransomware threat report are as follows:
- 144% rise in average ransomware demand in 2021 to $2.2m
- 78% rise in average recorded payment that averages to a sum of $541,010.
- The number of victims whose data was exposed in leak sites rose 85% in 2021
According to the vice president of threat intelligence at unit 42, Ryan Olsen, “Cybercriminals are doubling down by finding additional ways to extort victims in conjunction with ransomware.”
The rise in ransomware is probably owing to some new techniques that cybercriminals are now deploying. As the Dark Web leak sites became famous in 2020, cybercriminals used them to identify ransomware victims, threatening to leak corporate information. However, in 2021, ransomware gangs started popularizing multi-extortion techniques.
