Study: Email, phone calls, and apps like Slack are vulnerable to ransomware

Article by Gadjo Sevilla | Mar 22, 2023

The news: Companies are paying as much as $7 million to resolve ransomware attacks in 2023 as criminals are becoming more invasive and casting wider nets to infect systems with malware, per SiliconAngle.

By the numbers: Cybercriminals employ various techniques to pressure their victims into paying. Harassment and coercion via phone calls and emails have been involved in 20% of ransomware cases investigated by Palo Alto Networks Unit 42’s State of Email Security 2023 report.

59% of 1,700 chief information security officers and other IT pros surveyed fear that cyberattacks are not stopping anytime soon and that the attack vectors are growing significantly sophisticated.
75% of companies have experienced an increase in email-based threats. This method has become one of the most prevalent and lucrative cyber threats in recent years.
72% of companies expect to be victimized in 2023 by collaboration-tool-based attacks involving apps like Microsoft Teams, Discord, Slack, or Kaseya to deliver malware.

Recent ransomware attacks:

The National Basketball Association informed newsletter subscribers Monday that their data was stolen from an “unnamed third-party provider” that could result in phishing emails.
Ferrari was targeted by a ransomware attack that exposed its customers’ names, addresses, email, and phone numbers. The company has not paid the ransom demand, saying that doing so “does not … change the data exposure.”

The impact on companies: The median demand from hackers was $650,000, while the median payment was $350,000, revealing that effective negotiation can drive down ransom payments.

Companies in the US are the most affected, accounting for 42% of leaks in 2022, followed by Germany and the UK with 5% each.

The FBI fights back: The Federal Bureau of Investigation said it “hacked the hackers,” shutting down Hive2, a major ransomware group responsible for attacking 1,500 companies in over 80 countries since mid-2021, per NPR.

The FBI was also able to provide decryption keys to some victims, saving over $130 million in ransom payments.

Key takeaway: The growing aggressiveness and sophistication of recent ransomware attacks reveals criminals are exploiting remote work tools. Agencies are combating the threat, but more ransomware victims need to report attacks.