Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

SecurityWeekSecurityWeek

Cybercrime

Some Hackers Take the Ransom and Run: Researchers

Paying off hackers after a ransomware infection could end up being a total loss, according to a study released Thursday which finds some attackers just take the money and run.

Paying off hackers after a ransomware infection could end up being a total loss, according to a study released Thursday which finds some attackers just take the money and run.

A survey by researchers at the security firm Proofpoint found that 33 percent of organizations infected with ransomware opted to pay the ransom.

But some 22 percent of those who paid a ransom said they never got access to their data locked up by the malware, and nine percent said they got hit with additional ransom demands after paying.

“Of those who paid the ransom, many soon learned an old lesson: there is no honor among thieves,” said the report from the California-based firm.

The researchers surveyed some 600 security professionals in seven countries and found that 65 percent of the organizations represented got hit by some kind of ransomware, which encrypts data on a system to make it inaccessible.

The latest report highlights growing concerns about ransomware infections, which have affected many organizations with aging computer networks.

“Healthcare organizations and state and local government entities were hit particularly hard in 2019,” the report said.

“Ransomware has the power to immobilize critical infrastructure and disrupt necessary (and even life-saving) services. An organization in this situation may conclude that paying the ransom is the most expedient — and cheapest — way to get up and running again.”

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

A separate report by the security firm Emsisoft found that at least 966 organizations in the US were hit by ransomware in 2019, at a potential cost in excess of $7.5 billion.

Written By

AFP 2023

Click to comment

Trending

Daily Briefing Newsletter

Subscribe to the SecurityWeek Email Briefing to stay informed on the latest threats, trends, and technology, along with insightful columns from industry experts.

Understand how to go beyond effectively communicating new security strategies and recommendations.

Register

Join us for an in depth exploration of the critical nature of software and vendor supply chain security issues with a focus on understanding how attacks against identity infrastructure come with major cascading effects.

Register

Expert Insights

Related Content

Cybercrime

The changing nature of what we still generally call ransomware will continue through 2023, driven by three primary conditions.

Cybercrime

As it evolves, web3 will contain and increase all the security issues of web2 – and perhaps add a few more.

Cybercrime

A recently disclosed vBulletin vulnerability, which had a zero-day status for roughly two days last week, was exploited in a hacker attack targeting the...

Cybercrime

Luxury retailer Neiman Marcus Group informed some customers last week that their online accounts had been breached by hackers.

Cybercrime

Zendesk is informing customers about a data breach that started with an SMS phishing campaign targeting the company’s employees.

Artificial Intelligence

The release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in late 2022 has demonstrated the potential of AI for both good and bad.

Cybercrime

Satellite TV giant Dish Network confirmed that a recent outage was the result of a cyberattack and admitted that data was stolen.