Each Payment to Ransomware Attackers Subsidises Nine Future Attacks

New report from Trend shows how ransomware industry is kept afloat

AUCKLAND, February 24, 2023 –  Trend Micro Incorporated (TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704)), a global cybersecurity leader, today published a new report warning that although only 10% of ransomware victims pay their extorters, they are enabling attacks on numerous other organisations by doing so.

To read a full copy of the report, What Decision Makers Need to Know About Ransomware Risk*, please visit: https://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/nz/security/news/ransomware-spotlight/understanding-ransomware-using-data-science

Mick McCluney, Technical Director ANZ at Trend Micro: "Ransomware is a major cybersecurity threat to enterprises and governments today. It's also continually evolving, which is why we need more accurate, data-driven ways to model ransomware-related risk. This new research aims to help IT decision-makers better understand their risk exposure and provide policymakers with the information they need to craft more effective and impactful strategies."

The report delivers strategic, tactical, operational, and technical threat intelligence and leverages advanced data science to list various threat actor metrics. These metrics can be used to compare ransomware groups, estimate risks, and model threat actor behaviours.

Key findings include:

 

The report reveals that by prioritising protection left of the kill chain, continuing in-depth analysis of the ransomware ecosystems, and focusing global efforts on reducing the percentage of victims paying, industry stakeholders could help drive down ransomware's profitability.

The insights revealed in this report can also enable decision-makers to better assess possible financial risks stemming from Ransomware. This would help:

 

*Jointly produced by Trend Micro and Waratah.io, the report applies data science approaches to information collected from network and host-based telemetry, underground forums, bitcoin, and financial transactions, and chat logs – alongside analysis of criminal business processes – to uncover new trends and choke points of the ransomware ecosystem.

About Trend MicroTrend Micro, a global cybersecurity leader, helps make the world safe for exchanging digital information. Fuelled by decades of security expertise, global threat research, and continuous innovation, Trend Micro's cybersecurity platform protects hundreds of thousands of organisations and millions of individuals across clouds, networks, devices, and endpoints. As a leader in cloud and enterprise cybersecurity, the platform delivers a powerful range of advanced threat defence techniques optimised for environments like AWS, Microsoft, and Google, and central visibility for better, faster detection and response. With 7,000 employees across 65 countries, Trend Micro enables organisations to simplify and secure their connected world. http://www.trendmicro.com.nz/

Media Contact:
Meshal Malik
meshal.malik@archetype.co