Research of ransomware attacks in the US identified 966 US government agencies, educational establishments and healthcare providers were impacted by ransomware in 2019. The figures for the year to date (April) for 2020 is showing a much reduced number for the public sector. The report obviously attributes this to COVID-19. With many services now off-line due to furlough. More people are at home and whilst the attack surface is much bigger, its making it much harder for attackers to take a hold of critical services.
This could also tie to some degree with the rapid increase we’ve seen in phishing attempts targeting home users. The report highlights that the number of attacks on private companies has remained steady, which is strange, as you would expect a similar analogy to the public sector. However the expectation is more companies will fail in the coming weeks and months due to ransomware. There’s no money to pay the ransom, unless the cyber insurance covers the costs.
Article by Emsisoft 04.2020
