Ransomware attackers jack up attacks on tech companies
"Over 102.4 million records were breached via ransomware attacks on tech companies in 2023–a staggering 2,300 percent increase on 2022’s figure of 4.26 million. It’s also the highest number recorded across any industry since we began tracking confirmed ransomware attacks in 2018..."
Finnish IT services and enterprise cloud hosting provider Tietoevry fell victim to an Akira ransomware attack over the weekend. One of its Swedish data centers was hit, while customers saw outages and were threatened with data leaks.
Ransomware attacks aren't new, but according to recent numbers from Comparitech's map of worldwide ransomware attacks, tech firms are increasingly being targeted.
According to Comparitech's tracker, which is updated daily, the number of ransomware attacks carried out on tech companies jumped from 60 in 2022 to 88 in 2023. The average ransom demand has also risen. In 2023, the average ransom demand was just over $27.4 million, up from $3 million in 2022.
While 4,205,995 records were reportedly affected in 2022, this number jumped to 66,032,193 by the end of 2023. Comparitech cites "country cybersecurity reports, high-authority news articles, and extensive cybersecurity databases" as sources for its list.
See also: vCenter Server vulnerability went exploited for two years unnoticed. Attacks are ongoing
"Over 102.4 million records were breached via ransomware attacks on tech companies in 2023 – a staggering 2,300 percent increase on 2022’s figure of 4.26 million. It’s also the highest number recorded across any industry since we began tracking confirmed ransomware attacks in 2018," Rebecca Moody, head of data research for the tracker told The Stack via email.
Some of the biggest noted ransoms were from the Russia-based LockBit group, according to Moody. Lockbit demanded $80 million from CDW Government after hitting the tech supplier. Lockbit also fired a ransom demand of $70 million at foundry giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company following an attack.
"One of the primary reasons for this increase was the MOVEit attack which, to date, has seen around 94 million records affected," Moody added.
"This also highlights the change in motive for many hackers. As well as encrypting key systems, ransomware groups also appear to be focusing on organisations with large volumes of data."