Australia makes top 10 list of ransomware victims

Australia has earned its spot as one of the most targeted nations for ransomware attacks, with new findings revealing the nation is now in the top 10.

The findings were published by industry leaders Trend Micro in a report analysing the actions of the world’s most notorious ransomware groups: LockBit, Clop and ALPHV (AKA BlackCat).

Of the top 10 countries affected by successful ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) and extortion attacks by number of victims, Australia came in seventh in both Q1 and Q2, with 20 and 27, respectively. The US topped both quarters with 397 and 552, respectively, making up almost half of all ransomware attacks.

On top of this, attacks on Australia and New Zealand make up 76 per cent of all ransomware attacks on the Oceanic region, demonstrating just how lucrative as targets both nations are.

“We’ve observed a significant increase in the number of ransomware victims since the second half of 2022,” said Trend Micro ANZ technical director Mick McCluney.

“Threat actors continue to innovate, target more victims, and cause significant financial and reputational damage.”

Globally, the report found that there had been a 47 per cent increase in new RaaS victims from 1,364 in 2H 2022 to 2,001 in 1H 2023.

A trend observed by Trend Micro is that the trio of major ransomware operators have shifted their focus to smaller organisations due to an assumption that their security measures won’t be as advanced.

Fifty-seven per cent of all LockBit victims had 200 or fewer employees, the same for 45 per cent of ALPHV. Clop continues to target large businesses, which make up 50 per cent of all its victims, while small businesses comprise 20 per cent.

Of the three, LockBit has continued to dominate as the top dog threat actor, accounting for over a quarter (26.09 per cent) of all victim organisations, while ALPHV and Clop reach similar numbers at 10.59 and 10.09 per cent, respectively.

In the first half of 2023, the most targeted sectors were the banking, retail and transportation sectors, while the IT, healthcare and manufacturing sectors were found to be the most targeted in regard to ransomware file detection.

“Organisations of all sizes must prioritise and enhance their cyber security posture,” continued McCluney.

“Our report should help network defenders, policymakers, and other stakeholders make better-informed decisions in the ongoing fight against ransomware.”

The full Trend Micro report can be found on the company’s website.

This article was originally featured in Cyber Security Connect.