New research shows reported ransomware attacks have doubled across key industries

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Aug 02, 2023, 09:02 ET

Fifth-annual report from Barracuda analyzes ransomware attack patterns that occurred between August 2022 and July 2023

Highlights:

Barracuda researchers identified and analyzed 175 publicly reported ransomware attacks from the past 12 months, and found that in three key industries — municipalities, education, and healthcare ― reported attacks have doubled since last year and more than quadrupled since 2021.
Researchers also saw a spike in the number of attacks on infrastructure-related industries.

CAMPBELL, Calif., Aug. 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Barracuda Networks, Inc., a leading provider of cloud-first security solutions, today published its fifth annual Threat Spotlight on ransomware. The new report looks at ransomware attack patterns that occurred between August 2022 and July 2023.

Read the full Threat Spotlight blog post: https://blog.barracuda.com/2023/08/02/threat-spotlight-ransomware-attacks-double-ai-tactics/

An in-depth look at ransomware trends
Barracuda researchers analyzed 175 publicly reported successful ransomware attacks across the world between August 2022 and July 2023, and in the primary categories Barracuda has been tracking — municipalities, healthcare and education — the number of reported attacks have all doubled since last year and more than quadrupled since 2021.

While successful ransomware attacks targeting infrastructure-related industries are lower in volume compared to the top three sectors, these industries also experienced more than twice the number of attacks compared to last year.

The analysis revealed similar patterns of escalation in other industries, particularly ransomware attacks on software businesses.

In the past 12 months, Barracuda's SOC-as-a-service team observed the following types of incidents: business email compromise (BEC), ransomware, malware infection, insider threat, identity theft, and data leakage. Ransomware accounted for 27.3% of incidents, second only to BEC (36.4%).

This year also, Barracuda researchers also took a closer look the impact of generative AI tactics on ransomware attacks, looking at ways cybercriminals can use these capabilities to strike faster and with better accuracy.

"The number of successful ransomware attacks continues to climb and shows no signs of slowing down," said Fleming Shi, CTO at Barracuda. "Recent advances in generative AI will only help ransomware gangs increase the rate of attack with more effective cyber weapons. That's why it's essential for organizations to have tools in place to detect and prevent attacks, but also to be resilient and prepared to recover from an attack."

Resources:

Read the full Threat Spotlight blog post: https://blog.barracuda.com/2023/08/02/threat-spotlight-ransomware-attacks-double-ai-tactics/

2023 ransomware insights: https://www.barracuda.com/reports/ransomware-insights-report-2023

Ransomware protection page: https://www.barracuda.com/ransomware

Get the e-book: https://assets.barracuda.com/assets/docs/dms/eBook_ransomware_2021.pdf

2022 Ransomware Threat Spotlight research: https://blog.barracuda.com/2022/08/24/threat-spotlight-the-untold-stories-of-ransomware/

2021 Ransomware Threat Spotlight research: https://blog.barracuda.com/2021/08/12/threat-spotlight-ransomware-trends/

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About Barracuda Networks

At Barracuda, we strive to make the world a safer place. We believe every business deserves access to cloud-first, enterprise-grade security solutions that are easy to buy, deploy, and use. We protect email, networks, data, and applications with innovative solutions that grow and adapt with our customers' journey. More than 200,000 organizations worldwide trust Barracuda to protect them — in ways they may not even know they are at risk — so they can focus on taking their business to the next level. For more information, visit barracuda.com.

Barracuda Networks, Barracuda and the Barracuda Networks logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Barracuda Networks, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Contact:
Anne Campbell
Barracuda Networks, Inc.
978-328-1642
[email protected]

SOURCE Barracuda Networks, Inc.