Sharp Spike in Ransomware in U.S. as Pandemic Inspires Attackers

COVID-19 has changed the face of cybercrime, as the latest malware statistics show.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to shape the face of cybercrime in 2020, with ransomware and attacks on internet of things (IoT) devices seeing sharp increases in the U.S. for the first half of the year.

According to SonicWall’s 2020 Cyber Threat Report ransomware attacks are up, particularly in the U.S., where they have more than doubled year-over-year (up 109 percent). Meanwhile, malware targeting IoT devices has risen to 20.2 million, up 50 percent from this time last year – as cybercriminals target the massive influx of employees working from home.
At the same time, encrypted malware and cryptomining have seen resurgences after dropping off late last year.

“While the historic disruption accompanying the COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging for businesses, it’s been a boon for cybercriminals,” said SonicWall president and CEO Bill Conner, in the report. “The pandemic’s effects can be seen in most every piece of threat data highlighted here — shifting, increasing, decreasing and upending long-standing patterns.”

Full article on https://threatpost.com/sharp-spike-ransomware-pandemic-inspires-attackers/157689/

#ransomware #databreach #security #privacy #datastorage #yokdata