Singapore – A new study from cybersecurity firm ExtraHop found that security leaders are increasingly becoming targets of ransomware attacks, facing nearly eight incidents per year and ransom payments totalling US$2.5m on average.
According to the report, a general rise in ransomware activity was observed, while some businesses were found to be likely targets based on different demographics, including the markets in which they operate or the size of their organisations.
The region also reported an average of more than eight ransomware incidents last year, despite only one-fifth of respondents in Singapore citing ransomware as a primary threat.
Interestingly, Singapore recorded the highest number of organisations that pay the ransom every time at 27%, indicating an average payment of US$3.3m, a figure higher than the global average.
In addition, the government sector further averaged more than eight attacks last year and had one of the largest average ransom payments, amounting to US$3.8m.
The government sector also reported the largest percentage of organisations paying more than US$25m in ransom payments.
Another insight from the report also revealed the likelihood of larger companies experiencing ransomware incidents. In fact, organisations with more than 5,000 employees were more likely to pay the ransom every time and, on average, paid more than US$4m in ransom payments.
Mark Bowling, chief information security and risk officer at ExtraHop, said, “Ransomware is targeting some organisations more than others, but despite this notion, everyone needs to be prepared to curtail exposure to the risks and damage posed by an incident.”
“As ransomware continues to find ways to bypass and evade existing security controls, we can anticipate that these statistics will only grow more dire. Amid high-profile political elections and a growing call for regulatory action across the globe, it is time that the cybersecurity industry comes together to develop and adopt a more resilient security framework that can identify a ransomware attack before it devastates entire organisations, industries, and even economies,” Bowling added.
