According to a recent report from Coveware, a ransomware negotiation firm, there’s a notable decline in the number of ransomware victims choosing to pay up. With growing opportunities to protect your organization’s digital presence and tighter budgets: why get forced to pay at all?
The Downward Trend in Ransomware Response
In early 2019, 85% of organizations hit by ransomware attacks capitulated to the demands of cybercriminals. By the last quarter of 2023, this figure dropped to just 29%. This dramatic change isn’t just a fluke; it shows how organizations are adapting and responding to cyber threats.
Why It Matters
Ransomware attackers are opportunists driven by financial incentives. If the profitability of ransomware diminishes, these malicious actors are likely to pivot to other forms of cybercrime. This potential shift will only drive hungry criminals towards more desperate measures.
The Driving Forces Behind the Decline
A recent report highlights several factors contributing to this downward trend in ransom payments:
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Improved Cyber Defenses:
Enterprises have significantly fortified their cyber defenses. Enhanced cybersecurity measures and data backup systems enable quicker recovery from attacks, reducing the need to pay ransoms.
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Distrust in Hackers’ Promises:
There’s growing skepticism among companies regarding the integrity of cybercriminals. The belief that hackers won’t honor their word to delete stolen data even after receiving the ransom is dissuading payments.
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Organizations Don’t Have the Money:
Due to higher Federal Fund Rates, some organizations are seeing tighter profit margins. Others like Google, for example, spent $2.1 Billion last year on severance packages to lay off salaried employees.
The Verge reports: “Google spent $2.1 billion on severance and other expenses as it laid off more than 12,000 employees over the course of 2023. And the layoff charges keep coming: in just the one month of 2024 so far, the company has already spent $700 million on employee severance charges as part of layoffs targeting another 1,000-plus roles.”
Companies do not only have less money from debt-laden economy, but they’re also spending more on cyber security. So, it seems prudent to also spend more on backing up information off-site instead of giving criminals the opportunity to hold the company treasure chest in their hands alone.
Overall, ransomware has emerged as a top cyber threat over the past five years, impacting a wide range of organizations, private and public.
Adapting to the Threat
As ransomware hackers adapt their tactics, organizations must also evolve their defenses. DomainSure’s continuous scanning and monitoring of Domain & DNS ensure operational security and early warning of security threats. Phishing detection and takedown services and leveraging machine learning for threat detection are critical in identifying and neutralizing potential phishing sites that could be precursors to ransomware attacks.
If you have done well to protect your organization using effective cybersecurity software, you can prevent having to pay at all.
Conclusion
The decline in ransom payments signals that organizations are finding alternatives instead of giving in to cybercriminals’ demands. They don’t trust that hackers will follow through with their promises, and they’d rather not spend money they don’t have. Those to two big reasons to avoid unexpected expenses.
Investing in and upgrading your cybersecurity measures like those offered by DomainSure are essential. By protecting domain names and DNS infrastructure, organizations not only secure their operations but also contribute to making ransomware a less lucrative business for cybercriminals.
Protecting your good names isn’t just a tagline; it’s a necessary strategy towards having to pay any ransom at all.
References
https://www.axios.com/2024/01/30/ransomware-pay-out-decline-chart
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