Ransomware affect 12 million employees globally

A recent report around ransomware attacks reported 5,212 such cases across companies with a combined revenue of $4.15 trillion that affected more than 12 million employees worldwide. 

India stood tenth in a list of countries ransomware risks were the highest, with the United States leading the pack and followed closely by Canada and the United Kingdom, says a report presented by NordLocker, who analyzed a collection of ransomware cases that occurred between January 2020 and July 2022. 

The findings weren’t surprising as it was evident that companies affected by ransomware come from a variety of industries. However, the ones that are targeted the most often play a critical role in supply chains or handle lots of customer data. 

These factors put immense pressure on the companies to pay the ransom and resume operations. The research shows that other factors include an insufficient focus on cybersecurity, high-stakes working conditions, and a lack of resources. These industries are likely chosen because of the high attack success rate.

When it came to the bad actors in the business, the report underscored that ransomware groups displayed their achievements as it helped bully victims into paying up to retrieve their data. NordLocker says some of these groups receive governmental protection in return for their safety. 

Are smaller companies targeted less because of their limited resources? Or maybe more? The data proves that it’s neither. While the fewest ransomware attacks were recorded against companies worth between $5 and $10 billion, companies earning over $10 billion had twice as many cases. Moreover, companies with less than $1 million in revenue and thoses between $500 million and up to $1 billion were targeted at a similar rate.

The research has also found that small and medium-sized companies between 11 and 50 employees as well as companies with 51-200 employees suffered the most attacks. One-person businesses suffered the least.