Ransomware attacks are intensifying in both frequency and severity. Cyber criminals view ransomware as a lucrative business and are increasingly shifting their attack focus from privacy breach to ransomware, which offers the potential for large ransom payments.
The COVID-19 environment creates conditions for more, and more successful, ransomware attacks: phishing emails that leverage pandemic-related topics, and less secure remote cybersecurity environments.
The financial and operational severity of ransomware are also increasing: the size of ransom demands are growing, operational downtime is longer, and remediation is becoming more complex.