Almost 65% of financial organisations worldwide reported experiencing a ransomware attack in 2023, according to data by Stocklytics.com. Data also revealed that ransomware made up about two-thirds of all reported cyberattacks.
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Financial sector attacked
Sophos's State of Ransomware in Financial Services 2023 survey revealed that nearly 65% of financial organisations reported experiencing ransomware in 2023, increasing to 55% in 2022 and almost doubling to 34% in 2021. The sector also reported the highest encryption level in the last three years, rising to 81% in 2023 from 54% in 2022.
Emerging technologies, the prominence of ransomware marketplaces, and the accessibility of malware kits make the financial industry one of the most targeted sectors.
Ransom 8x more than in 2022
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In 2023, the primary causes of ransomware attacks in the financial sector were exploited vulnerabilities (40%), compromised credentials (23%), and phishing (33%). The survey revealed that the average payment amount skyrocketed in 2023, when 43% of financial services organisations paid the ransom to recover their encrypted data, decreasing from 52% in 2022.
Moreover, the number of organisations paying higher ransoms has increased. In 2023, 40% of financial sector organisations paid one million dollars or more, logging an eight-times increase compared to 2022. Organisations that paid less than $100,000 remained unchanged at around 40%.