Indian companies faced the third-highest number of malware attacks after the United States and Japan. In fact, more than 1,000 companies worldwide suffered data breaches following a ransomware attack in 2020, a trend that is expected to accelerate next year, according to a report by Acronis, the world leader in cyber protection.
The Acronis Cyber Threat Report 2020 provided an in-depth review of the current threat landscape and projections for the coming year. The report reveals that a total of 1,168 malware detections were found for every 1,000 customers in a month. Maze ransomware detections were reported at 7.8% in Q3 2020 and remote workers and managed service providers were cyberattacks, and data exfiltration outstrips data encryption, both in India and across the world. the world.
Building on the protection and security challenges that were amplified by the shift to remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic, Acronis warns that 2021 will bring aggressive cybercrime activity as criminals shift their attacks from data encryption to data exfiltration. Ransomware remains the top threat in India, with Maze ransomware accounting for nearly half of all known cases in 2020.
“More than any year in recent memory, 2020 posed a host of challenges for IT professionals, organizations, and the service providers that support them,” said Stas Protassov, Acronis co-founder and president of technology in a statement from the press. “What we’ve seen is how quickly bad actors adjust their attacks to the new IT landscape. By analyzing the activity, attacks, and trends we have detected and clearly presenting our findings, we hope to empower our partners and help the broader IT community prepare for the threats on the horizon. ”
The report also has some interesting conclusions. First, attacks against remote workers will increase. While 31% of global and Indian companies reported daily cyberattacks in 2020, the frequency of attacks targeting their remote workers is projected to increase in 2021 as system defenses outside of the corporate network are further compromised. easily, giving them access to bad actors. organization data.
Second, the ransomware will search for new victims and become more automated. Instead of continuing to launch a wide network, ransomware attackers will focus on targets that provide a greater return on their efforts. Entering a network to steal data from multiple companies is more profitable than attacking individual organizations.
Third, legacy solutions struggle to keep up. Blocking new malware has made traditional antimalware solutions obsolete, unable to keep up with the increased sophistication and frequency of new threats. The average lifespan of a malware sample in 2020 was just 3.4 days.
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As attackers continue to use automation, the number of malware samples will continue to increase. Organizations will need to find new protection approaches that are agile and designed to stay ahead of new threats. Simple, stand-alone security and backup solutions will no longer suffice.
The recent Cyber Readiness Report 2020 published by Acronis revealed that 56% of companies in India reported that their IT costs had risen significantly to counter-attacks in recent months, exactly twice the global average. Additionally, India demonstrated the highest rates of video conferencing attacks with 66% of local businesses reporting encountering video conferencing attacks. India also reported twice as many attacks as any other country, followed by the US and the United Arab Emirates, and 62% of companies in India reported having problems with phishing attempts.