Cyberprotect experts conducted research and found that Russia, along with the United States, entered the top countries in terms of the number of cyber attacks.
During the analysis, experts studied the frequency of large and public information losses in 2023 due to attacks by ransomware hackers, and also found out which industries suffered the most and what was the average ransom amount, notes Lenta.Ru on Friday, February 2.
Experts explained that an encryptor, or ransomware, is a malicious program that seeks information that is valuable to a company or user. In particular, we can talk about documents, images, databases. He encrypts it for ransom; encrypted files cannot be opened or used.
Among the leading countries in the number of ransomware attacks were the USA, Canada, Great Britain, Australia and Russia. In total, 150 major attacks of this kind were recorded last year, their total number increased by 20%. In Russia, the share of attacks increased from 1% to 4%. In the US, growth was 17% between 2022 and 2023.
According to experts, last year hackers most often attacked the public sector: 24 attacks were recorded. IT companies are also among the top most attacked victims, although last year the number of attacks decreased by 30%: 18 attacks were recorded in 2023 versus 24 in 2022.
Last year, the largest ransom was paid to hackers by the American casino chain Caesars Entertainment – $15 million, which is only 50% of what the hackers demanded. The attackers managed to steal the company's loyalty program database, which contained customers' driver's license information and social security numbers.
The average ransom check in 2023 ranged from $250 thousand to $10 million. In 2022, a large UK car dealer, Pendragon, paid $60 million to hackers.
Experts note that complying with hackers' demands usually does not guarantee anything. After the ransom is paid, the data may not be decrypted; it may also be leaked onto the Internet or transferred to competing companies. Cases of repeated attacks on companies after some time have also become more frequent.
Earlier on February 2, WikiLeaks reported that a New York court sentenced ex-CIA programmer Joshua Schulte to 40 years in prison in the case of the largest leak of a series of top-secret materials. U.S. District Judge Jesse Fuhrman sentenced him to charges including espionage, computer hacking, contempt of court, making false statements to the FBI and possession of child pornography.
On January 24, it became known that specialists of the Center for Monitoring and Management of Public Communications Networks (CPM SSOP), subordinate to Roskomnadzor, repelled 185 massive DDoS attacks in 2023. In particular, attacks against systems of protected objects were repelled, reports NSN.
On January 23, the largest residential area in Lviv was left without hot water supply and heating as a result of a hacker attack. The cyber attack led to a disruption in the operation of the heat supply control system, the TV channel notes. “360”.
On January 18, the cybersecurity company StormWall reported that the number of DDoS attacks against Russian companies in 2023 increased by 29% compared to 2022. Thus, the number of attacks on the telecom sector has almost doubled, on transport organizations – by 38%, and on the public sector – by a third, writes RT.
Last September, hackers published thousands of pages of top secret information about UK military and intelligence sites. As the TV channel noted “Star”the published information could help attackers penetrate the HMNB Clyde nuclear submarine base, as well as the Porton Down chemical weapons laboratory and the government communications center interception post.
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