Ranon payments hit record highs in 2021

Inflation rules the financial front of ransomware attacks. According to Unit 42, the cybersecurity consulting arm of Palo Alto Networks, the average amount of ransoms demanded by cybercriminals and the amount actually paid by companies broke new records around the world last year. At the same time, groups specializing in ransomware have seen their numbers grow.

It is precisely clear from the Unit 42 study that the average amount demanded from hacked companies reached $2.2 million in 2021, i.e. 144% more than the $900 K recorded in 2020. As a result, the value of the amounts extorted to those who yielded to blackmail has also grown. To a lesser extent, however, since it increased “only” by 78% to reach $541K on average, or 42.42% of the financial demands of cybercriminals.

Conti, Everest and Lockbit 2.0 lead the way in France

In the game of who makes the most ransom demands, the Russian group Conti is one of the most active, if not number one. He is behind more than one in five cases on which Unit 42 intervened in 2021. He and his counterparts are also increasingly emulated, since 35 new gangs leading the same type of cybercriminal activity have been spotted. Companies that do not untie their stock to these groups risk having their data published on dedicated dark web websites. 2,556 companies suffered this fate last year, ie 85% more over one year. About 60% of them are based on the American continent against 31% in the EMEA zone.

In Europe, France is the second country where companies are the most targeted by ransomware attacks and data leaks, behind the United Kingdom. In France, Conti is also the most active group, followed by Everest and Lockbit 2.0. They mainly target professional service providers and legal firms (49%), industry (32%) and the manufacturing sector (21%), construction (19%) and distribution (9%).