Data exfiltration is now the go-to cyber extortion strategy

The abuse of zero-day and one-day vulnerabilities in the past six months led to a 143% increase in victims when comparing Q1 2022 with Q1 2023, according to Akamai.

Ransomware groups target the exfiltration of files

The report also found that ransomware groups increasingly target the exfiltration of files, the unauthorized extraction or transfer of sensitive information, which has become the primary source of extortion. This new tactic indicates file backup solutions are no longer a sufficient strategy to protect against ransomware.

According to the report, adversaries are evolving their methods and techniques from phishing to put a greater emphasis on vulnerability abuse. As these adversaries shift tactics, LockBit has dominated the ransomware landscape, from Q4 2021 to Q2 2023, with 39% of total victims – more than quadruple the number of victims of the second-highest ranked ransomware group. Further analysis shows that the CL0P ransomware group is aggressively developing zero-day vulnerabilities, growing its victims by 9x year over year.

Of all vertical industries, manufacturing saw a 42% increase in total victims between Q4 2021 and Q4 2022, underscoring the potential threat to global supply chains. LockBit was responsible for 41% of overall manufacturing attacks. The healthcare vertical saw a 39% increase in victims during the same period, and was targeted primarily by the ALPHV (also known as BlackCat) and LockBit ransomware groups.

Ransomware hits financial services

Organizations with reported revenue of up to $50 million dollars were the most at risk of being targeted (65%) while organizations with reported revenue above $500 million dollars made up 12% of total victims. Victims of multiple ransomware attacks were more than 6x more likely to experience the second attack within three months of the first attack.

Financial services organizations saw an increase of 50% in the total number of impacted organizations year over year while the retail vertical ranks third in the number of ransomware victims per industry and saw a 9% increase.

“Adversaries behind ransomware attacks continue to evolve their techniques and strategies striking at the heart of organizations by exfiltrating their critical and sensitive information,” said Pavel Gurvich, SVP and GM, Enterprise Security at Akamai. “It’s critical that organizations understand the techniques and tools deployed by adversaries in order to shield their critical assets, preserve trust in their brand and ensure business continuity.”