Sonicwall reports nearly ‘unimaginable upward trend’ in ransomware

SonicWall has recorded a 148% increase in global ransomware attacks through the third quarter of 2021.

With 495 million ransomware attacks logged by the company in 2021, the past year has been the most costly and dangerous on record.

The US administration hosted a global ransomware summit in October to pledge ‘all national tools’ to stop cyberattacks on critical sectors. Leading governments, including the UK, India, Australia, Germany and France, as well as the European Union, attended. SonicWall’s latest research now confirms leaders have cause for concern.

“As we see it, ransomware is on a nearly unimaginable upward trend, which poses a major risk to businesses, service providers, governments and everyday citizens,” said SonicWall President and CEO Bill Conner.

“The real-world damage caused by these attacks is beyond anecdotal at this point. It’s a serious national and global problem that has already taken a toll on businesses and governments everywhere. I’m hopeful that the recent global ransomware summit is the next step toward a greater response at global, national and state levels.”

Dmitriy Ayrapetov, SonicWall Vice President of Platform Architecture, said: “The techniques deployed by ransomware actors have evolved well beyond the smash-and-grab attacks from just a few years ago.  

“Today’s cybercriminals demonstrate deliberate reconnaissance, planning and execution to surgically deploy toolchains targeting enterprise and government infrastructure. This results in larger victims and leads to higher ransoms.”