• by Ray Schultz , April 10, 2018

Ransomware is the most prevalent form of malware attack, showing up in 39% of breaches -- double that of last year, according to Verizon’s 2018 Data Breach Investigations Report. The report cites over 700 incidents.

In last year’s study, Ransomware was in fourth place; it came in 22nd in 2014.

Verizon also found that ransomware is now affecting business-critical systems, not just desktops, leading to bigger ransom demands.

Targets include human resource departments in a number of sectors. The objective is to glean wage and tax data for use in tax fraud and rebate scams, Verizon says. Financial pretexting and phishing account for 98% of social incidents and 93% of all breaches. Email is the vehicle in 96% of the episodes. 

Verizon tracked 170 pretexting incidents this year, compared with 61 last year 

Employees remain a weak link in malicious attacks.

Of the attacks studied, 72% were perpetrated by outside actors and 27% by insiders. Organized crime is involved in 50% of the cases

“Ransomware remains a significant threat for companies of all sizes,” says Bryan Sartin, executive director security professional services, Verizon. “It is now the most prevalent form of malware, and its use has increased significantly over recent years.”